#I’ve got Hunger For Magic bookmarked

[incorrect-fanfiction-quotes]

If I had a nickel for every time I’ve read a fanfiction where Harry has a giant growth spurt and goes on a murdering spree, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot but it’s weird that it happened twice.

[dem-obscure-imagines]

New Year’s Eve Drabbles 2020

Fandoms: Jumanji, Rise of the Guardians, Ben 10 Alien Force, Maleficent, the Hunger Games

Note: Happy New Year! Here’s to hoping 2021 is a little kinder. I did a set of New Year’s Eve drabbles a few years ago and it was a lot of fun, so here you go! I hope you like them!

Warnings: Hunger Games spoilers

Alex “Seapilot” Vreeke x Reader

Word Count: 0.4k

The idea of a new year, admittedly, made Alex a little nervous. It was only a few months before that you had found your way into Jumanji with your new friends, rescued Alex, and brought him with you to modern day. And the six of you had figured: What better way to celebrate the new year than to have a little party?

So, you’d helped Bethany and Martha get the living room of Bethany’s house ready while Spencer, Fridge, and Alex picked up pizza, snacks, and drinks. You set some party favors out on the table. There were cute glasses proclaiming the new year, noise makers, candy, streamers, balloons, and some confetti.

When the boys got back, you helped set up the kitchen and Alex walked over to you, helping you unload the pizza and breadsticks and garlic knots. You kept catching him glancing at you, but every time you looked at him, he glanced away nervously, chuckling to himself.

“What?” You asked.

He shook his head. “Nothing. It’s just…I have this irrational fear that when midnight hits, all of this will go away.” He exhaled a long breath. “And I’ll be there all over again.”

“Hey.” You grabbed his arm, grounding him in the moment. “That’s not gonna happen, alright? You’re not going anywhere, and neither are we.”

“You’re stuck with us, Vreeke.” Fridge said, giving Alex a pat on the shoulder. “Nothin’s gonna happen. It’s over. The game is gone.”

“I know, but…It’s just stuck in my head.”

“It’s gonna be okay, alright? I’ll…” you bit your lip, thinking. “I’ll take your mind off of it.”

“Okay,” He nodded. And he didn’t know exactly what you meant, but he trusted you.

So, when 11:59 rolled around, you walked right over to where Alex was standing, his hands shaking, his eyes fixated on the TV screen, and you cupped his cheeks in your hands, turning his face to yours.

“Stay with me. Stay right here with me.” You whispered to him, your eyes focused on his. “No numbers, no countdown, just us. Just you and me.”

“I like the sound of that.” He whispered back, his hands resting on top of yours for a second before sliding down to your waist and tugging you closer.

And so you stayed there, and when the clock struck midnight, your lips met his, soft and sweet and everything he ever dreamed they’d be. When you pulled away, he exhaled a long breath, his eyes sparkling.

“That’s the first time I’ve been kissed in twenty years.” He said softly.

“You want a second one?” You asked.

He didn’t even reply, just pulled you closer and aligned his lips with yours once more.

Jack Frost x Reader

Word Count: 0.3k

The relationship you had with Jack was, well, complicated. You were a college student. You’d been friends with Jack for a few years because you were, what he called, the oldest believer. Even long after Santa had stopped bringing you presents, you still believed, and therefore, when Jack had flown past your window one night and your jaw dropped, he decided to loop back around.

The rest was history.

You were at a college party to celebrate the new year, but honestly, you just weren’t feeling it. So, you wandered up the stairs, found an empty bedroom, and opened the window to get some air.

“Oh come on, party girl, tapping out already?” Jack said, floating just outside the window.

“What are you doing here?”

“I was in the neighborhood.” He shrugged. “What’s up?”

“New Year’s Eve party.” You told him. “It’s hot down there. And loud.”

Just as you said it, all the people in the lower level of the house started shouting numbers.

“Sounds like it’s almost over, though.” He floated closer and sat on the windowsill. “Hey, uh…” he reached up to scratch the back of his neck, his icy blue eyes landing on yours. “Do you mind if I do something I’ve been wanting to for a really, really long time?”

“What would that be?”

“Well, it’s a surprise.” He tilted his head. “Can you close your eyes?”

And while you knew Jack was a trickster in every meaning of the word, you closed your eyes, waiting in the window, the cold air refreshing on your face and in your lungs. And then, a few moments later, you felt something cold and soft against your lips. You couldn’t help but kiss him back.

Ben Tennyson x Reader

Word Count: 0.4k

It was Kevin’s idea to have a little New Year’s Eve party. Of course, it was just the four of you, the team, celebrating. You had been exiled to the back seat with Ben and because you were on patrol, there was no champagne to be had.

Gwen had, however, brought along some plastic wine glasses and a bottle of sparkling grape juice. It was better than nothing, and though you didn’t admit it, you were glad you were with the other three of them. It was better than spending the night alone.

Kevin drove the car out into the middle of the field and parked, tuning the radio to a New Year’s Eve broadcast. It was then that the four of you split into pairs. Kevin wrapped an arm around Gwen and they stepped off away from you and Ben, who stayed closer to the car.

“Want me to top you off?” He asked, holding up the bottle of sparkling juice.

“Sure, thanks.” You held up your glass and he poured more juice into it.

“A new year, huh?”

“Yeah…” You nodded an took a sip. “Weird.”

“Weird.” He agreed. “I have this weird, funny feeling that things are just gonna get weirder from here on out.”

“It always seems to where the four of us are involved.” You chuckled, sitting on the front of Kevin’s car.

Ben joined you.

You motioned to Kevin and Gwen, off in their own little world. “They’re good together, you know?”

“They are.” Ben chuckled, shaking his head. “That’s weird too, but…it’s getting less weird.”

“Mmhmm.” You nodded. You sighed and looked up at the stars. There were so many. So many planets and solar systems and galaxies in the vast, vast universe spread out before you. “It’s gorgeous.”

“It is.” He agreed, but he wasn’t looking at the sky. He was looking at you.

About twenty minutes later, the countdown started. You’d never had feelings for Ben. You didn’t know why. He was cute, he was confident, and yet, you’d never felt anything romantic for him. Well, until tonight. When the countdown got dangerously low, he looked at you and you looked at him and it just…clicked.

So, under the sparkling stars, side by side, you brought in the New Year with Ben Tennyson, his lips interlocked with yours.

Diaval x Reader

Word Count: 0.3k

You had to hand it to her, Maleficent threw quite the party. It was the eve of the new year, and to celebrate, Maleficent had called together all of the people of Aurora’s kingdom and all the fae of the Moors.

You were an enchantress from the kingdom, someone who was magical, but unaccustomed to the woods. You were wearing a fine silver gown made of silk and a moonstone circlet around your head. In your hand, you held a goblet of champagne, and as you walked through the forests, which were lit up with the gentle glowing magic of the creatures who inhabited it, you couldn’t help but be amazed by their beauty and grace.

You continued through the Moors and, inevitably, ran into a tall stranger. Quite literally. You found yourself standing right in front of a tall man with dark hair hanging in his face. It took you a moment to recognize him. This was Diaval, Maleficent’s companion and shapeshifter.

“Pardon me, didn’t see you there.” You apologized.

“I blend into the dark, I’m afraid.” He chuckled. It was true, with his dark hair, dressed in all black, he did indeed blend in with the shadows.

“No harm done.” You smiled. “I’m (Y/N).”

“Of the (L/N) house?” He asked, his eyes widening. “You’re the enchantress.”

“I am.” You nodded, smiling softly.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He said, taking your hand in his and raising it to his lips. “Maleficent has mentioned introducing the two of us, but she’s been…busy, it seems.”

“I can imagine taking care of two kingdoms would be quite the task,” you mused softly. “Well, the pleasure is mine, Diaval. I will admit, your abilities are intriguing to me.”

“Oh. They’re not mine. It’s Maleficent’s magic that granted me this form. Usually, I’m a raven.” He admitted, a sheepish smile finding his face.

“Fascinating.” You said, your eyes alight with awe. “Well, Diaval, what do you say to accompanying me for the evening?”

He slipped his arm through yours, his dark eyes sparkling and a promise written in his smile. “I’d be honored.”

Peeta Mellark x Reader

Word Count: 0.7k

Another New Year’s Eve alone with your books. You couldn’t complain, though. It was quiet. It was nice. It was you, the TV, your cat, and the Hunger Games books. Specifically, you were reading the first book, starting the series over again for what felt like the thirtieth time. Your books were very worn, the spines cracked beyond repair. You loved them and everything they stood for.

So, you opened the cover and pulled the bookmark out. You were nearing the end of the games. Peeta was hiding from the careers somewhere while Katniss took care of Rue. And when she died, as she always did, you cried. A few of your tears landed on the page of the book, and when the third tear landed on the paper, you heard a thud in your kitchen.

Looking up, you searched the room for your cat, but you spotted him on the chair across from you, notably, not making a mess in the kitchen. So, slowly, you walked through your apartment until you reached the doorway of the kitchen. You thought maybe one of your barstools had fallen over or something. But no, sitting in the middle of your kitchen, a shocked look on his face and a large gash on his leg, was none other than Peeta Mellark, right down to the District 12 jacket and the Josh Hutcherson face.

“What the fuck.”

“Is this…Where…where am I?”

“In my kitchen. In my apartment. Are you…You’re Peeta Mellark.”

“How did I get here?”

“I don’t know.” You shook your head. You looked at his leg, the shock of a fictional character sitting in your kitchen wearing off when you realized he was injured and bleeding pretty badly. “Shit, you’re bleeding! Um, I’ll get a first aid kit. Stay right here.”

You ran to your bathroom and back, carrying your first aid kit. He was lucky you knew your shit. He was also lucky he’d landed there before it got too badly infected.

“What district is this?” He asked, looking around your apartment, still sitting on your tile floor. “Where am I?”

“Peeta, I don’t know how to tell you this.” You sat down and opened your first aid kit, pulling out some ointment and bandages. “This isn’t one of the districts. This is another…world? Reality? I don’t know the terminology, but…”

“What do you mean?”

“Once I patch you up I will try to explain everything, okay?” You applied some hydrogen peroxide to his cut and then put ointment on it, wrapping it up in bandages. “Is that too tight?”

“No, it’s fine. Thank you.” His eyes were grateful, but you could tell he was still shaken up.

You helped him to his feet and he limped to the living room with his arm over your shoulder for support. Once you got him settled in a chair, you walked back out to the kitchen and got him a glass of water and the leftover half of a Subway sandwich that was in your fridge. You were planning on eating it for lunch the next day, but he needed it more than you did.

“You must be starving. Here.”

“Thank you so much.” He said, taking an eager few gups of water. You knew he was definitely dehydrated. “I’m pretty sure this is just some amazing dream.”

“It might be.” You shook your head, chuckling to yourself. “I don’t know how to explain this to you, but, here…” You handed him all three of the Hunger Games books and watched his face as he looked them over, curious but sullen.

“This…this is a joke, right? I’m not…this is…how…?”

“I don’t know either. But, um, you’re welcome to stay here as long as you need to. Or as long as you want to. I can’t imagine going back to a place like that. To the games…”

“You’ve read these a lot, huh?” He noticed how beat-up they were and looked up at you. “Why?”

“They give me hope. Things are pretty bad in my country right now, and it gives me hope that even though things are bleak, they can get better.”

“So they do get better?”

“They will, Peeta. It’ll get worse first, but they will get better.”

He smiled a soft but painfilled smile.

Your TV announced that the new year had arrived, and when you looked, it was indeed midnight.

“Happy New Year,” you said quietly.

He nodded and let out a long sigh before repeating, “Happy New Year.”

[yellowmagicalgirl]

Fic Writer Tag Game

tagged by @im-the-king-of-the-ocean​

...it feels like I just did something very similar to this very recently but I’ll do it again I guess. This time I’m gonna include Fanfiction.Net, though, just so I can give different answers. That being said, I’m only going to link to the AO3 version of the fic

Fandoms:

These days, it’s almost all Tales of Arcadia, but my AO3 also has some Miraculous Ladybug, SPOP, and RWBY as well as a crossover with The Hunger Games. In addition to the above, my FFN also has some PMMM, Tai Chi Chasers, Sailor Moon, iZombie, Harry Potter and Voltron Legendary Defender in there.

Number of Fics: 98 on FFN, but only 60 of them ever got transferred to AO3.

Fic I Spent the Most Time on: I know I said I was torn between two fics last time, but honestly? I spent hours looking up the effects of PTSD, solitary confinement, and various forms of torture for the Juliet Dies; Life Continues fics. There’s a reason why when I finally publish Juliet Survives in This I’m gonna contain two disclaimers: one for the Dead Dove Do Not Eat and another for the fact that I’m using magic and the fact that Claire’s not entirely human anymore just so I can find a way to make it so that Claire has a good reason for not being any worse off. The other fic I was writing I only did some research before going, “nah I’m bastardizing Arthurian legend”

Fic I Spent the Least Time on: *looks at old writing and cringes* Raked over Crimson Waves, probably...

Longest Fic: Every Ghost in Me is the longest fic I’ve ever written at a proud 10,188 words... and somehow it’s a oneshot.

Shortest Fic: For actual fics, it’s A Shop Infested on AO3 and Arme Harry on FFN. Though, A Shop Infested is also the shortest English actual fic on FFN for me as well (yes, I have one (1) fic written in German.) However, this doesn’t count my poetry. On AO3 it’s Isn't It Ironic? On FFN it’s In My Arms.

Most Hits: On AO3, it’s I Bet You Kiss Your Knuckles (Right Before They Touch My Cheek) with its 1741 hits. On FFN, it’s Dare, which has 15,174 hits. Though, for comparison, Dare was written in 2015; I Bet You Kiss Your Knuckles (Right Before They Touch My Cheek) only has 348 hits on FFN.

Most Kudos: I Bet You Kiss Your Knuckles (Right Before They Touch My Cheek)

Most Comments: On AO3 my collab with Tuna, Birds, Bees, and Blood Magic, has the most comments, but Juliet Dies in This has the most threads. On FFN, it’s still Dare.

Most Bookmarks: Birds, Bees, and Blood Magic holds this title on AO3. The closest similar thing we have on FFN is favorites, so that title goes to Picked the Wrong Girl.

Total Word Count: On AO3, my net word count is 82,299. On FFN, I had to break out excel, and my net word count would be approximately 136,615 words. Approximately because I can’t separate the fic from the author’s note.

Favorite Fic I Wrote: You can’t make me choose... but it’s probably one of those jlaire hurt/comfort fics I’ve written. Or for that matter, the LadyNoir hurt/comfort fics I used to write when it comes to FFN even though I decided not to move them off of AO3... wait a second. I have a type. Oh no I have a type when writing and shipping and that type is the person who’s associated with light and goodness comforts the person who’s associated with darkness. I mean I’ve written outside of this type many a time but let’s face it so many of my shippy hurt comfort fics more or less boil down to this description.... how did I not realize this before.

Fic you Want to Rewrite or Expand on: I will never actually finish it but every so often I still want to go and give With the Distance Amplified a proper ending. Other than that, I kind of want to go and expand upon I Bet You Kiss Your Knuckles (Right Before They Touch My Cheek) despite the fact that I don’t want to have to watch ML canon to do so properly... oh, and also? I really need to finish the 3Below interlude to Juliet Dies; Life Continues.

Share a bit of a WIP or Story Idea you’re Planning on: so earlier today I posted a Krexie ficlet... I need to do some more editing so that the fic makes me nearly cry as much as the ficlet did and write all the other scenes because the fic is much more than just the kiss but here is the kiss from Krel’s POV:

There is a very full bowl of cat food, and multiple bowls of water. Krel follows Archie, and he finds Douxie, sitting on the floor, curled in a blanket, back to the door. Archie meows and runs away. Douxie doesn’t look up, and so Krel walks around him. Douxie’s head is bowed, and he is typing frantically at his phone, and then erasing what he wrote. There are tear tracks on his face, though they are hard to see, when most of the tears probably crawled into the cracks. Krel kneels in front of him, trying to see what Douxie is typing. The movement catches Douxie’s attention, and he startles. The blanket falls away from Douxie as he scrambles to his feet.

Normally, his reflexes are better. Not so clumsy. Not almost falling over his own long, cracked limbs. Krel reaches out to help Douxie stabilize himself, but Douxie uses a wall instead.

Douxie rips his earbuds from his ears, and for a second Krel can hear a woman singing from the earbuds before Douxie silences the music he was listening to. Douxie takes a breath. It is wet and shaking.

“Krel, why are you here?” Douxie wraps his arms around himself, and Krel isn’t sure if Douxie is cold from wearing a sleeveless shirt or just uncomfortable.

“I saw your text; I worried.”

“I’m sorry.”

Krel takes a large step towards Douxie; Douxie takes a small step back.

“Douxie, you, we’re gonna break the curse, you’re going to –“

“I’m going to die today,” Douxie whispers, looking at his own feet. Krel looks past the soft shorts Douxie is wearing to Douxie’s ankles. They have been taken over by cracks, and they’re advancing.

They are out of time. Douxie is out of time. Krel feels his lower lip start to tremble, and he tries to make it stop.

“You, you should probably go,” Douxie says like he doesn’t mean it. “I don’t… I’m not going to make you watch me die.”

“I’m not going to make you…” Krel can’t bring himself to say the word “die”, like saying it aloud will make it true. And that’s silly, that’s superstition, that’s not scientific, but every scientific way Krel has tried to save Douxie hasn’t worked. “I’m not leaving you alone; I don’t think you want to be alone right now.”

“Then can you-“ Douxie breaks off into a coughing fit. “Can you hold me? If that’s okay?”

Embrace your mistakes, like Mother would have said if she were not dead.

Krel takes another step towards Douxie, and Douxie does not step away, rather, he leans into Krel, unwrapping his arms from his own torso. They take one, two, three steps backward, to where the blanket lays abandoned on the floor. They sink to the ground, arms around each other. Krel cannot save Douxie, but he can make sure that Douxie is comfortable. Douxie clings to Krel with a surprising amount of strength. Krel ignores the urge to wrap his fingers around Douxie’s neck, just so he can keep track of Douxie’s pulse. Krel cards his fingers through Douxie’s hair instead. His other arm wraps around Douxie’s torso and his hand rests on Douxie’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” Krel says, hating how his voice sounds when he’s about to cry.

“It’s not your fault, all of you did your best,” Douxie says, voice choked and so very scared. Krel feels his shirt starting to grow damp. “I don’t want to die; I wish we had more time.”

“Me too,” Krel says. A tear slips down his cheek, and he tightens his grip around Douxie’s torso, like he can keep Douxie from slipping away.

Douxie jerks, and Krel fears Douxie might be convulsing, but he’s just pushing himself up so he can look Krel in the eye. “Krel, I…” Douxie coughs, turning away, and when he turns back his glowing eyes are so much dimmer. “I love you.”

Douxie goes slack in Krel’s arms, closing his eyes. Krel presses his lips against Douxie’s and hopes.

A couple tears escape Krel’s eyes as he tries not to think of how he still doesn’t know for sure if he loves Douxie the way the curse wants him too, if he’s too late and he should have kissed or at least told Douxie sooner instead of waiting.

Krel closes his eyes. Douxie’s lips are chapped or cracked or maybe both, but they are still. Passive. Krel exhales through his nose; Douxie’s lips feel dead.

Krel is about to pull away, but then Douxie starts kissing him back. And it isn’t much, just a firm press that wasn’t there before, but it is enough to convince Krel that maybe it isn’t too late.

Tagging (for the record your participation is optional): @clairekatswritingcorner, @fieryartemispublications, @mambo-no-5, @dork-empress, @brothebro, and @akozuheiwa

[paradisobound]

World’s Greatest First Love: Chapter 4

Summary: Dan Howell wanted a clean break from his father’s publishing company. It was why he applied for a different company in London: to stop the ridicule of his coworkers for riding on his ‘daddy’s coat tails’. But he wasn’t expecting to suddenly be going from a literature editor, to a graphic novel editor. And he certainly wasn’t expecting to come face first with his first love who broke his heart from when he was a teenager: who just happens to be his new editor-in-chief.

Based on the Anime and Manga “The World’s Greatest First Love: The Case of Ritsu Onodera” aka Sekai-Ichi Hatsukoi

Rating: Mature (For Now)

Word Count: 2.7k (this chapter)

Warnings: None for this chapter

Updates Every Tuesday at 12pm EST and Saturday at 1pm EST

Thanks to my lovely beta @phanandpenguins​ who has been doing a great job of editing these chapters for me! 

READ ON AO3 | READ ON WATTPAD

Phil is having a heated argument with someone when Dan arrives to the office on Thursday morning. There is tension in the air and Dan feels like everyone is too hyper focused on the argument that is taking place to focus on their own work. Dan had never seen the guy before, but he stands tall and broad over Phil as he hovers above the desk. He looks mean, and definitely like someone Dan should avoid so he makes a mental note of it.

“We sold out of the Marmon book in the first day,” The man says. “What kind of a rookie mistake is that, Phil?”

“It’s not my rookie mistake!” Phil shouted back. “It was your superior who wouldn’t allow for us to print more than 5,000 copies when I requested 7,500.”

“Don’t start blaming it on…”

Dan stopped listening because the arguing did nothing but make the anxiety in his chest weigh heavier and heavier. He opened his laptop and loaded up the manuscript that he had been working on for his author and pulled up some of the edits he had made. He was beginning to scroll to where he had bookmarked to look at next but the arguing grew louder and he got more and more distracted.

He turned his head and saw Mitch was working unphased next to him, scribbling some red marks onto a printed storyboard, “Hey, Mitch?” Dan asks and Mitch turns his head, “So I can’t help but listen to that fight and I guess I’m confused why it’s a bad thing that Phil’s author’s book sold out so fast? Isn’t it a good thing that you’re making sales? ”

Mitch furrowed his brows and then perked up and opened his mouth, “Yes and no, really. It’s a bit more complicated than that.”

“How so?” Dan asks, genuinely curious.

“Well, if a book sells out the same day that it comes out, then that’s not good for the author’s sales because it’ll take another week or two for us to do another printing by the time the printer gets around to it. By that point the book will have sadly been forgotten by most people. So it’s better to have just enough copies and do a second printing than to sell out and have to wait with nothing out there to be sold.”

Dan nods his head because that does make a lot of sense, “So is the man Phil is arguing with in charge of that process then?”

“Yes!” Mitch answers with a smile.

“So...who is he?”

“Oh! That’s…”

“Me.”

Dan stiffens and turns his head to come face to face with the man he had just sworn he would avoid. His dark hair is sticking straight up in places and his eyes are so dark they’re like black holes. Dan instantly feels more intimidated than before.

“Damien” He says, adding on before Dan can catch his bearings. “I’m the head of the sales department here at Onyx. I take care of how many copies your book gets.”

Dan just stiffens further and forces out a smile before Damien turns on his heels and walks away, leaving a trail of overconfidence in his way that left Dan feeling more uneasy. Dan turns to Mitch, his mouth agape, “Is...is he always like that?”

Mitch shrugs, “Actually no. He can be tough when he wants to be but honestly, he’s also nice. Just probably have to get to know him. I’m sure he was on edge from his conversation with Phil.”

Dan nods and agrees because sure, that’s honestly probably it . So Dan turns back in his seat and goes back to working on his manuscript again.

He gets through quite a bit of it before his hands start to cramp and his stomach starts to rumble. When he stands up from his desk, he takes a second to look over towards Phil’s desk but he notices Phil isn’t there, which being honest is a bit unusual , Dan thinks. He makes his way into the breakroom and stuffs some money into a vending machine to get a lousy cup of noodles for his lunch.

Dan takes the container of noodles and opens the top and pours some of the hot water from the coffee maker into it. He lays the lid back closed and sits and waits for his noodles to start working their magic to give him a hint of satisfaction for his hunger. He knows he hasn’t been eating properly but he genuinely doesn’t have the time to make himself something else besides quick food.

People from the floor come and go as they please which leaves Dan sitting all alone at the table with no one to talk to but he’s not entirely upset about that either. He’s been so busy lately that having this short break was actually a bit of a reprieve.

His noodles become finished far too quick and he pushes a couple pound coins in the vending machine for a candy bar and begins to nibble on that just as he leaves the break room. He goes to his desk and takes a seat, looking to Phil’s desk on instinct and for some reason, Dan feels a little bit calmer seeing Phil now sat behind his mounds of papers, running his hands through his hair.

***

Dan decides to leave the office as soon as he sends the manuscript with corrections back to his author. He emails her the corrections and then prints out a copy for himself to take home and look over one more time. His deadline is rapidly approaching and he wants his first time being an editor for this author to go as smoothly as possible.

Dan’s exhausted, and as he walks off from the elevator, he feels like the weight of the world is on his body, holding him down and barely keeping him upright. He needs some proper food and maybe a few drinks. Probably also some water. Has he even drank water in the last week? He doesn’t remember which probably says a lot more than it should.

He shuffles his feet as he walks and he rounds the corner to the exit when he sees Phil and Damien talking next to the doorway. Damien is enjoying a cigarette and Phil is stood with his arms crossed. Dan steps back and hides behind the corner because he doesn’t want to intrude.

Are they arguing? Is something else happening between them? Dan feels uneasy all over again and his stomach starts to hurt at the thought. But he wants to get home, and in order to leave, he has to pass them which means he’s going to have to walk by them and deal with whatever they are saying.

He turns the corner and begins to walk past them when he sees Phil start to laugh, throwing his head back and Damien laughing along with him, cigarette smoke funneling from his lips. He puts out his cigarette and looks at Phil and just as Dan is trying to walk by, he hears, “ Are you up for that drink?”

Dan is suddenly confused. So Phil and Damien were friends? But why were they screaming at each other earlier. It had to be just work things, right?

“Oh Dan!”

Dan stops in his tracks at Phil’s voice calling after him.

Dan turns around and faces Phil who is zipping his jacket up a bit further on his neck, “Damien and I are on our way to the bar for a few drinks if you want to join?”

Dan shakes his head and declines, “No, I just want to get home and get some rest.”

Before Phil can say anything, Dan just nods goodbye and hikes the hood up on his jacket and leaves the building into the bitter cold of December evenings. He puts his hands into his pockets and walks half of his commute, only taking the tube when he physically couldn’t stand the cold on his cheeks anymore.

His apartment is chillier than he would care to admit so he turns the heat on a bit higher when he passes through the front door. His stomach is rumbling so he goes to his refrigerator and opens it up to see nothing but wilted greens and spoiled food. He shuts the door and lets out a sigh.

He could order out, but that would require spending more money and he doesn’t have a lot of that at the moment. He ends up not finding any food suitable for eating and he flops himself down on his couch, hoping to get a few hours of sleep before he has to go to his miserable bed.

Dan’s eyes are just starting to close when his phone begins to buzz in his pocket and he pulls it out to see an email from his author.

Re: Finished Manuscript Edits

Hi Dan,

Just finished looking over your edits and I’ve made some adjustments accordingly. Please let me know what you think. I would love more feedback.

Best,

Veronica “Roni” Tully

Dan sits up straighter on the couch and immediately lunges for his bag at the end of the cushion. He opens it up and grabs his laptop and boots up his email. He loads her edits and her storyboard and sees that she has made a lot more corrections and so he hits print on the document and hears the printer in the corner whirl to life.

He throws his laptop to the side and sets down on the floor with the manuscript sprawled in front of him on his coffee table. He grabs his red pen out of his bag that he’s learnt he needs to carry with him at all times and uncaps it and begins to get to work.

He tries to work diligently, taking into consideration everything he’s learnt from his few short weeks of being a graphic novel editor. But he soon can feel like he’s not doing something right and it takes away any of his ability to finish the rest of the manuscript.

As much as he doesn’t want to, he knows he needs to get ahold of Phil somehow. He has Phil’s number from their brief exchanges at work but he doesn’t want to text him, especially when Phil just said he and Damien were going out for drinks.

Dan will need to email him the manuscript. He quickly grabs for his laptop again and loads his email and attaches the file and sends it to Phil with the note reading that he would like Phil to look over the manuscript and help him a bit in making corrections. He no longer hits send when his phone vibrates and he looks down to see a message on his screen.

Phil: I’m right next door. Bring me your corrections

Dan feels mortified. He can’t just go next door and bring Phil the corrections because now he feels like a moron for emailing him them to begin with! He sits chewing at his nails until a knock appears on his door and it startles him. He gets up and rushes over to it, opening it.

“I’m right next door,” Phil repeats as soon as the door opens. “You literally just have to walk two steps.”

“I...I…”

“Where are your corrections?” Phil asks, extending his hand. “I’ll look over your corrections but I’m not going to do them for you.”

Dan’s cheeks heat up and he blushed as he turned on his heels and rushed back to grabs his corrections from the coffee table and hands them to Phil. Phil shuffles through them and then stills, “Come over to my apartment.”

Dan furrows his brows, “Why?”

“Just...come with me and we’ll look over the corrections together,” Phil says, stepping backwards and not allowing Dan to say otherwise.

Dan swallows and follows him out of the door to his apartment. Phil pushes the door open and they step inside. Dan looks at the surroundings around him and is actually impressed by how nice everything looks. Everything looks so precise to him…. so not Phil.

“So first off,” Phil says as he sits down at his kitchen table, “tell me why you made the corrections that you did.” Phil flips through the pages a bit more and then stops and shoves a page at him. “Especially the ones on this page.”

Dan looks down and sees that this is the page where he made the most corrections, but that’s basically because he found this part a bit boring compared to the rest of the story. He stutters for a moment and then finally says exactly that, “I thought this part was boring.”

“Why?” Phil quizzed.

“Because it didn’t go with the rest of her story. The pictures don’t do anything for the rest of the novel.”

“So why did you suggest these specific corrections?” Phil pressed.

Dan stuttered a bit but he failed to answer right away and Phil noticed. He picked up a red marker and uncapped it with his teeth, blowing the cover onto the floor as he marked for two different panels to be switched around, “This is all you needed to do,” Phil says. “The rest of the corrections don’t actually enhance the storyboard like you just explained to me.”

“But I thought…”

“Dan, you can’t do these corrections half-assed.”

“I’m not doing them half-assed!” Dan countered. “I did exactly what I remember you teaching me to do!”

Phil shook his head, “You’re doing too much.”

Dan feels like his head is spinning. So is he half-assing his work or doing too much ?

“I…”

“Here,” Phil says, shuffling through the pages again, “Let’s go through each page together.”

Dan nods his head, feeling even more mortified than before and let Phil flip through each page correcting and fixing more.

By the time they were done, the storyboard had much more red on it than before and many corrections crossed out and redone. He looks down at it and feels like his heart is sinking out of his chest because he feels like he’s just completely shit on his authors work.

But the truth is that his author’s work is fantastic and that’s why they need these corrections to push them past fantastic to amazing. Every author wants to be a best seller but this is the only way to do so.

Dan gathers the papers and puts them into a pile and stands up from Phil’s kitchen chair, “Thank you.”

Phil looks up at him and nods, “You’re welcome.”

He starts to walk to the door but is stopped when Phil’s voice cuts through his head, “We still haven’t talked about us, ya know.”

Dan feels the color drain from his face and he swallows down the knot in his throat, “There isn’t anything to discuss.”

“So you’re not even gonna talk about how we used to love each other?” Phil asks, standing up from his chair. “You’re going to just ignore that…”

“You broke up with me,” Dan says, turning around to face Phil, “You’re the one who broke my heart.”

“Oh is that how you remember it?” Phil asks, his voice rising in volume. “You’re remembering that I broke up with you .”

“Because that’s what happened!”

“Dan,” Phil shook his head, “You’re the one who literally slapped me across the face and then ran out of my house. I never heard from you after that.”

“I…”

“I know you don’t remember it,” Phil says, his voice going tense, “But maybe it would be nice if you tried.”

Phil all but pushes him out before Dan can get an answer and he stands on the other side of Phil’s door with the storyboard hugged to his chest and tears coming up to his eyes.

Dan had spent years trying to repress the memories of Phil and what had happened, and there was no way in hell he was going to let himself remember them all over again.

Even if it cuts deep inside his core.

Just as he turns to go to his apartment, he hears footsteps coming down the hallway and he turns his head just in time to see Damien walking towards them, and Dan momentarily forgets how to breathe. He grabs the door handle for his apartment and jumps inside, shutting the door just in time to hear the knocking of Damien’s hand on Phil’s door.

[rentfreecat]

Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts Fanfic Recs

so yeah I figured I should get around to making a list of some of my faves to promote them, I’ve got a big enough collection of bookmarks now. in no particular order. not all of them are necessarily complete or alive

Final Fantasy VII

The Gold Saucer’s Golden Arches by belderiver

Before he doomed the world to ash and ruin, Sephiroth wanted a burger.

note: Sephiroth + sudden hunger pang = mcgold

Meetings by Yinza

Aeris reflects on her few encounters with Sephiroth over the years since her escape from the lab.

note: Aerith having known Sephiroth before is just one of my favorite headcanons

lather, rinse, repeat by annperkinsface

She knows she shouldn't confuse this act of kindness for anything else, but it's hard, when Aerith is draping a towel over her shoulders, when Aerith is warm at her back, humming as she works a thick lather across her hands.

note: adorable Aerti. Aerith being a weirdo. Tifa blushing and being kinda horny. perfect. in case you couldn’t tell I ship it.

In Circles by Larissa

Tifa hates Midgar, and yet she stays, and she stays, and she stays.

Character study/pre-game gap-filler. Written for the Tifa Zine.

note: beautiful mood piece

the nodding golden tansy by Kieron_ODuibhir

“You think this troubles me?”

“Yes,” said Cloud, without looking up from his tea.

note: one of my fave takes on Seph and Cloud’s relationship. wonderfully quiet and melancholy.

not one before another by Kieron_ODuibhir

1) Sephiroth almost corrected the first person who called Aerith his sister, a woman they’d met before they were even out of Midgar’s slums complimenting him on taking such good care of her, while their mother shopped.

2) The other half of Project S took after their father.

3) Blue eyes contemplated him narrowly for several seconds, and then Genesis’ smirk came back, lying on his face more easily, somehow. “So brothers-in-arms to the skirmish shall we hence?”

4) It felt wrong to be relying on anybody but Mother, but Mother…only cared about Sephiroth, and it wasn’t fair. Loz sniffled. “Will she take care of Yazoo, too?”

5) “I’m glad he’ll have a big brother,” she said, as Sephiroth crossed the room. “Little ones always need someone looking out for them.”

Sephiroth nodded, and bent forward, and peered at the squashed little pink thing until it stirred, objecting probably to cool air on its face. “What’s his name?”

“Cloud."

(Five times in five worlds where Sephiroth was somebody's brother, and one where he wasn't anymore.)

note: exactly what it sounds like. personal fave is 4.

Angels Still Have Faces by Kieron_ODuibhir

On the fourth day, Sephiroth looked out a window and spotted his two friends together on one of the outdoor training fields, once again exchanging harsh words, only for Angeal to wheel around and storm off at the end.

note: fics where someone other than the main character time-travels are amazing and this is that and also outsider pov mother bear Sephiroth who doesn’t know what pizza is

Final Fantasy IX

puppet play by zalzaires

starting a drabble collection for ffix. i mostly just write about kuja so hence the name.

note: my personal fave is "curtains, bookends, stars of the show” because Kuja is such so... Kuja in there

Final Fantasy XV

ffucc the wedding by Givethemtriumphnow

Gift for Victortor, inspired by their fabulous ffucc Universe.

Noctis and Luna are the same person, one soul split into two bodies.

In a world where everyone lives and nothing hurts, the wedding is still a symbol of the peace, and the show must go on. Noct and Luna just can’t wait for what comes afterwards: the Big Reveal.

note: I just really like the one person two body trope okay? pretty entertaining read!

Poor Wayfaring Stranger by lithos_saeculum

Out on a mission, Cor Leonis finds a teenager, lost and sick and partway to becoming an MT. Against the advice of all and sundry, he brings him back to Insomnia. There's not a lot of love lost for MTs in the Citadel, but some of its inhabitants may still be young enough to put aside their prejudices.

note: also on my list of likes is MT Prompto trope, and honestly fuck canon that’s just there for inspiration. TW for implied pedophilia and stranger danger in one of the later chapters.

Will You Be There, Standing at the End of the War by Adel Mortescryche (Mortescryche)

When they're attacked by the Imperial Forces at Tenebrae, Regis wasn't prepared to be rescued alongside Noctis, Lunafreya and Ravus by the Commanding General of the enemy forces. Not after the man already cut Sylva down before them.

He was even less prepared for the face lying in wait behind the mask.

He dropped down to one knee, and rather pointedly cupped the left side of Drautos’ head, delicate, making no move to actually hide the fury raging through him.

“Talk, Titus.” Regis whispered. “Before I take this airship down from the sky.”

note: Drautos time-travels and is an absolute bastard. I like seeing his and Regis’s exchanges!

For Want of a Flan by magicgenetek

For want of some patience, Ifrit never freed Ardyn from Angelgard to rebel against the Astrals.

For want of Ardyn, Nifleheim never invented MT Troopers.

For want of MT Troopers, Lunafreya and Ravus were able to escape with Regis, and Nifleheim never cornered Lucis in their war.

For want of a kidnapping, Luna, Noctis and Prompto were able to work together to get ready for the prophecy, and Ravus is ready to suplex an Astral to make sure someone survives the prophecy.

For want of separation, the four of them go to Angelgard to figure out what secrets lay there, and accidentally adopt Ardyn into their plans to save the world.

For want of 2000 years’ prep time, Ardyn’s going to have to get up to speed on the modern world fast if he wants revenge or to fulfill his half of the prophecy.

note: has a good deal of worldbuilding and linguistics nerdery. I like that. I also like the recovery element of Ardyn’s arc.

A Little More Time by Asidian

The sun is brilliant overhead – set in a blue sky dotted with clouds that float like wisps of spun sugar through the high arc of the heavens.

It's more than lovely. It's entrancing, and Noctis takes one long, final look before he turns his gaze back earthward. His vision dances with sunspots for a moment, afterimages from the blinding light – but when it clears, Noctis sees a small black dog there, patient and watchful as always.

Umbra has been waiting.

"Alright," Noctis says. "We're ready to go back."

note: short, punchy, and absolutely chilling

Eschaton by nirejseki

Sure, it's the end of the world, but that just means someone's got to fix it.

And then the world found its somebodies.

(aka, with Noctis gone into the Crystal and no one sure when he'll be back, Ignis, Gladio, and Prompto end up saving the world one piece at a time)

note: I like worldbuilding and MTs alright? and schoolteacher Gladio will never not be funny/great

Astra Inclinant by thekindmagic

“Look,” Aranea laughs, shaking her head. “I’m not trying to shit on your destiny. But the way I see it? A lot of the time, there’s no big mystery. You either keep going, or you don’t.”

note: how could I not rec femslash? beautiful melancholy mood. I’m so sad for Luna

Starlight and Shadow by ohmyfae

While Noctis and his friends are setting up camp, Ardyn Izunia happens to accidentally stumble onto the runes of their haven. The magic of the haven pulls him into two halves; One is Ardyn, a small child with a bit of an ego and a limited knowledge of the world at large, and the other is the Scourge, shambling and groundless, determined to seek out its former host and consume the light it finds there.

note: fun read!

On the Care and Keeping of Prompto by ohmyfae

Congratulations! You have been chosen to ensure the well-being of PROMPTO, who is: 1. An absolute darling. 2. Of more intrinsic value than you, your significant other, your ancestors, and the world at large. 3. Two years and four months old 3a. This is very important to remember 4. Behind you.

note: also a very fun and fluffy read! also the fic that introduced me to the amazing crackship of Ardyn and Cor, and I say crackship but... I want more of it

Kingdom Hearts

The Price of Melodrama by LawnNinja

Xemnas never imagined that one of the hardest parts of his plan would be the stupid names.

note: deny it all you wish but you know this happened. also XULORD

(i don’t need you to) Worry for Me by Cygna_hime

In a fit of defiance and desperation, Vanitas disobeys his Master's orders and goes looking for the missing half of his heart. He finds it, and something else as well, something he never expected to find anywhere...

note: I absolutely love this I’ve read this like... 3 or 4 times? go read it now

Bleeding Heart by keelahselai

Xemnas was fundamentally a bad person. Born from the fracture of Xehanort's heart, he had only caused pain to those he banded together with under the promise of finding a way to return all their hearts. He shattered the Organization he'd founded for his own gain, and he understood this with cool indifference. But beneath everything, carefully kept folded away and hidden from Xigbar's prying eye, he was also made from the other inhabitant of Apprentice Xehanort's body. And as troubling as it could be to their plan, he kept it hidden from all.

(Or, how Terra managed to keep his head above the water for thirteen years)

note: I absolutely love the.. I don’t know what it’s called, but let’s say Terramas even though that sounds like a ship name... I absolutely love that trope. this one has such just a great mood y’know?

By Choice or Chance by Six_Piece_Chicken_McNobody

Lazy afternoons are a universal phenomenon.

note: I just love Xehaqus’s tragedy. this is nice, fluffy, and one of them is going to murder the other in his own selfish lust for power. (I know III said Xehanort had other motivations but I just love the “he’s such an utter bastard that all his relationships are going to end disastrously” interpretation)

Whatever Will Be by NanakiBH

Once I tell you the words I've been unable to say, it will be goodbye.

note: more explicitly melancholy mood than last one, still great.

[sophia-sol]

Hugo-nominated short stories

I've started working on reading through the things on the Hugo nominations list, in preparation for voting this summer! I'm hampered right now in many categories by not all nominees being available either for free online or from my library as an e-resource, but I'm hoping that when the Hugo Voters Packet comes that'll help.

But I can do the short stories no problem.

I'd already read all but one of the short stories on the nominee list, because for the last number of years I have make it a regular practice to give a try to everything published by the major SFF magazines that provide their stories for free online. The one I hadn't read is is published by a horror magazine, and horror is really not my thing so I don't frequent horror venues.

I bookmark on my pinboard all the stories that I like well enough to want to be able to find again in the future. And none of this year's nominees are on my pinboard. Which means that none of them spoke to me when I first read them, which is disappointing when I think of how many stories I read in the last year which I loved and which are not a Hugo nominee. At least the nominees are all stories I found compelling enough that I actually read them all to the end when I first encountered them!

I've now given a reread to all the short stories I'd read before, and a first read to the one I hadn't. And looking at the stories together, I think that Hugo nominators as a group must be more interested in bleak or angry or violent stories than I am. Ah well.

Here's my (occasionally spoilery) thoughts about all the nominated stories, organized from my first choice vote to my last. None of these will go below No Award, because I do see admirable things in all of them, even if none are really to my taste.

I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts if you've read any of these stories! (Except the cannibalism one. Please do not talk to me about cannibalism. Thank you.)

As the Last I May Know, by S.L. Huang This one is based on the thought experiment I've heard of elsewhere before, that maybe nuclear missile strikes could be prevented if the person ordering the strike had to personally murder a child in order for the missile to be launched. I really like how it humanizes the child in question and gives her a voice. But the premise the whole thing is based on is just one that has never really interested me, so a story focused on that thought experiment is one that ultimately I don't love, well-constructed as it is.

Do Not Look Back, My Lion, by Alix E. Harrow This story successfully emotionally connected me with the main character, and I enjoyed what it was doing with gender roles, but....it's a story about war and about having babies. Not my thing.

And Now His Lordship Is Laughing, by Shiv Ramdas It's a story of defiance of the British colonial era in India, featuring an older woman who makes traditional dolls (with magic). It's well done, but it's a story wherein the point and the emotional climax is taking bloody revenge on large numbers of people, and although I can understand why that is a story that people would want to tell about the situation in question, it is again not my kind of story.

A Catalog of Storms, by Fran Wilde Look, it's fine, I just find it kind of boring. Interesting premise but that's all that it's got going for it imo, I don't feel like I know or understand any of the characters, I never got drawn into the mood or feel of the piece, and there's not much of a story either.

Blood Is Another Word for Hunger, by Rivers Solomon Another story about people of colour taking violent revenge against white oppressors--again, valid, but I don't personally like reading about violent revenge no matter who's revenging themselves upon whom. And this story is very focused on murder and childbirth, neither of which are themes I enjoy, and then it links the two together in a way that I don't totally understand but still manages to throw a spotlight on how much I don't love having a focus on either theme. It's just really not for me.

Excerpts from an Annotated Bibliography on the Cannibal Women of Ratnabar Island, by Nibedita Sen It's a story about cannibalism. NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE. I do really like the excerpts-from-varying-accounts thing it's doing to build the story, and I think it's saying interesting things probably, and I can understand why other people might be really into this one, but a focus on cannibalism is a strong nope for me so I wasn't able to read it very closely.

[mojoflower]

Involuntary Invisibility

I’ve read a few fics with this rare trope, and this is what I found when I searched my bookmarks.  Anyone know of any others?

and with thy lips dispell this curse by paranoid_fridge  No rating.  10k.  The Hobbit.  Bagginshield.

In a word where neither the One Ring nor the Arkenstone exists and all survive the battle, Bilbo encounters a strange, magical creature while helping to evacuate Dale for the coming winter. He thinks nothing of it initially – but then he watches his own arm pass through solid wood and sees Thorin’s eyes widen in fear and call for him.

“I’m right here.” Bilbo wants to say, but cannot make a sound.

Not when he has been cursed to disappear.

My bookmark:  Wow, turning invisible involuntarily is some scary stuff...

Invisible Man by shinkonokokoro T.  21k.  Merlin.  Merthur.

"You are capable of more?" "More? Your majesty?" "More types of spells. More brain cells as well?" "Yes," he hissed. "Protect yourself." "What?" "Carl, shoot him."

Getting captured by Uther doesn't quite have the results Merlin expect.

My bookmark:  Lovely story. Modern royalty au, if you will, where, instead of executing Merlin, Uther makes him play invisible bodyguard, with a lot of emphasis on "You no longer exist." Merlin is terribly amiable, which is funny, and doesn't actually manage to keep his mouth shut when he bodyguards. Arthur creatively names him Voice.

In Visibility by cat_77  T.  14k.  Avengers.  No pairing.

He was used to slinking in shadows, hidden from sight. This was just ridiculous, really.

My bookmark:  "Hey, I figured out several important pieces of data with this little adventure," he protested.

"Such as?" Bruce prompted. Clint knew he was in trouble when Mr. Mellow looked pissed.

"Sitwell is an excellent liar, Fury still has the Gameboy I gave him for Christmas like six years ago, and the World Security Council wants to carve me up like a lab rat," he recited. He considered it an accomplishment that he was able to get any words out at all the way Nat still held him in place, fingertips carving into his skin.

Tony leaned back against the nearby counter and mused, "We figured out some stuff while you were out too, wanna know what?" He didn't wait for a response before he ticked off on his fingers, "One, you're an asshole. Two, the field around you is shrinking. Three, the World Security Council wants to carve you up like a lab rat, or possibly a frog because I doubt they've made it past sixth grade Biology, let's be honest here."

In Plain Sight by oldenuf2nb M.  38k.  Harry Potter.  Drarry.

Draco Malfoy had stopped believing his wishes would be granted long ago. He could perhaps be forgiven for being startled, then, when one of them came true.

My bookmark:  Lovely: the Board decides to do away with the Slytherin House and Hogwarts fights back. Meanwhile, Pansy is terribly injured by a curse and that makes Draco the last Slytherin standing. "He's the last," the voice tells Harry. "There isn't much time." Draco starts by using a disillusionment Charm, but it quickly becomes involuntary invisibility. But Harry's watching, and doesn't want him to disappear entirely. UST, although it isn't sex-heavy at all. There are some shining bits, however, like this bit, after Draco's injured and somewhat stoned: ******** “And that mouth…” he exhaled slowly. “Such a pretty mouth, Potter. Such a pretty, pretty mouth. Makes a man want to grab handfuls of your horrible hair and kiss that pretty, pretty mouth until it’s all soft and puffy and swollen.” Malfoy abruptly released the hold on Harry’s jumper and smoothed the bunched fabric with his hand. “I mussed you,” he noted, his eyes drifting closed and the smile returning to pull at his lips. “I mussed Potter. Although, Potter is usually mussed.”Harry was frozen in place, staring at Malfoy’s face, his heart racing. /What the hell had that been?/ he thought, finally pulling back. Malfoy must be heavily drugged. It was the only explanation for what had just happened.

Who said that? by coconutcranberries (orphan_account)  No rating.  33k.  Teen Wolf.  Sterek.

Stiles has a very unique superpower, in that he doesn't exist. He's invisible, untouchable, unhearable-is that a word?-and just not there. He feels like a ghost most of the time, although he can't walk through walls (he tried, the wall took offense and his nose paid the price) and he can still trip over his own feet. He blends perfectly into the background and no matter how hard he tries, nobody knows he's there.

It's a lonely life, he's not gonna lie.

But suddenly something changes. Stiles is part of a group project which includes probably the most explosive combination of people in his class. These people don't notice when he waves a hand right in front of their face-how could they when he doesn't exist? The possibilities are endless.

Oh, this is going to be so much fun.

My bookmark:  Such an interesting idea: Stiles' power is to make himself not exist... AT ALL. So from the time he's 8, he's vanished from everyone's awareness, all records deleted, everything. Only his dad can see him (and even that is periodically unreliable). But then suddenly, Derek sees him one day, which starts a chain of events that leads to him feeling hopeful once again about being able to interact with the world. It's kind of tragic, I mean, think of the loneliness, the skin hunger, the sense of abandonment involved in being non-existent for 8 years. But it eventually works out.

In Time of Trial by Shine  M.  38k.  Merlin.  Merthur.

Uther fears his son's power, and Merlin has helped Arthur flee to escape imprisonment. Now the two of them must fight to regain Arthur's rightful place in Camelot.

My bookmark:  Wow, what a fantastic story. 36k words never went so fast. This is the one where Uther's old friend Aelfric comes to visit and slowly drips poison into his ear until he's convinced that Arthur is going to try to depose him and take the crown. When he orders Arthur to be taken to the dungeons as a traitor (and killed on the spot if he struggles), Merlin races ahead of the guards to rescue Arthur. (Luckily, he's been practicing a spell that makes things invisible. Unluckily, he has to spring it on Arthur with no warning at all and convince him to be silent and still while the guards search his room around them.) And thus is magic revealed.The pair go on the run, and eventually settle near Tintagel, where all the Druids live, and begin preparations to fight back. Arthur allows himself to act on his attraction to Merlin (I'd rate this an M), perhaps because now that he sees that Merlin is a powerful warlock, he sees them as being equals. Also, there's no doubt of Merlin's loyalty, considering how they got out of Camelot.

Merlin's Moving Castle by KrisEleven  G.  49k.  Merlin.  Merthur.

As a result of some very unfortunate decisions, Arthur Pendragon, king of Camelot, is cursed by Morgana (also known as the Witch of the Wastes) and becomes fully invisible to anyone who doesn’t possess magic. Forced to abandon his kingdom, he begins his quest for a remedy to his unfortunate condition and comes across the quite charming - and even more annoying - Merlin who may be the only one able to save Albion, if only Arthur can convince him to try.

My bookmark:  What an amazing story. I kind of expected a rehash of the Howl's Moving Castle plot (which would have been fine, as I adore the story), but instead the author used only pieces of it and built something entirely new and totally belonging to Merlin and Arthur and their world from the show. There was a surprising amount of action (Merlin first meets Arthur during a fight and flight) and it culminates in an enormous battle. But in between, it's Arthur, learning to be patient and getting to know some new people... learning about the world through their eyes. It's just beautiful.

Beyond the Mirror's Edge by VivacissimoVoce  M.  49k.  Harry Potter.  Drarry.

Harry Potter is dead! A spell goes wrong in Advanced Charms class, leaving nothing but a charred ring and a pair of empty shoes. Draco Malfoy must figure out what happened and try to bring Harry back.

My bookmark:  interesting premise!The one where Harry is hit by a protection charm gone wrong and only his shoes are left. Dumbledore's Dead/Alive device only wavers with the needle halfway between the two when it's questioned, and no one knows where Harry is or how he's half alive. "The small wooden box with the life-death dial was mounted on the wall outside of the Charms classroom, with Potter’s shoes encased in a glass box beneath. The needle stayed resolutely fixed between the two indicators, but no one was sure what it meant."And then Draco hears, "Can anybody hear me?"Draco looked up and checked down the table. "Beg pardon?" he asked Pansy."I didn't say anything," she looked up in surprise."Anybody, please, if anybody can hear me please say something!"

Unseen by astolat  M 11k.  Harry Potter.  Drarry.

When he wasn’t wearing it, he got jumpy, always waiting for someone to come at him wanting something—and now they did it even more urgently, if they ever saw him, because most of the time, nobody did.

My bookmark:  #not involuntary invisibility#but i'll tag it that way#for my own purposes 

What it says on the tin, really. Draco is the only one who notices that Harry has turned himself into a ghost and is "haunting them all before his death". He carefully takes the Cloak, just for 24 hours, challenging Harry to see if he can do without it. Of course, Harry's never heard a challenge from Draco that he hasn't immediately and fiercely accepted. But it's HARD. As Draco, in a weird combination of rude and kind, coaxes him through the week, Harry learns to be seen again, is shown how to protect himself, and finds himself falling for Draco.

we are tangled by drunktuesdays  T.  6k.  Teen Wolf.  Sterek.

"Derek was at your house?" "For like ten seconds," Stiles said. "I'd say it was weird, but is anything about Derek ever not weird?"

My bookmark:  invisible!derek!!!

Invisible by chappysmom  G.  86k.  Sherlock.  No slash.

John had had the knack for as long as he could remember.

It wasn’t that he could become invisible, exactly. The laws of physics worked quite well in his vicinity, thank you very much. It was just that people tended … not to see him.

My bookmark:  Invisibility not actually involuntary, but this has always been one of my favorites.

[wisebrokenwallflower]

bangtan fic rec

I can be kind of particular when it comes to what I’ll read and I hold a special appreciation for well-written fics with good plot and dynamic characters. I’ve started to accumulate a fair number of fics in my bookmarks, so I think it’s time I start sharing some gems with whoever cares. I highly recommend all of these since I think they are all beautiful in their own unique ways, but I will list the ships. I know certain things can be triggering to some people, so please read the fic tags in case.

the italics are my thoughts, the normal text is the official summary, bolded fics are the ones that had significant impacts on me and or I feel discuss something really important

(this may or may not kind of be an open love letter to all the authors on here lol)

same damn hunger by marienadine [Yoonseok]

When it comes to fucking around with his best friend, Yoongi follows two rules:

1. They must be inebriated.

2. They must not kiss.

okay this fic is heartbreaking? it’s really smutty, but it’s also super poetic and angsty. it’s just really good, I’ve read it a ton of times : ))

Let’s Not Hurt Anymore by exfatamorgana [Namjin]

They don’t talk about it, and usually no one thinks to ask. But if you did, Namjoon and Seokjin would tell. They aren’t keeping secrets, and if you asked them, they’d answer. It just so happens that on a Sunday, not much different from any other Sunday, the other boys think to ask.

So how do two people who are always together end up… together?

two things: 1) this fic is part of a larger series, but I have not read the other parts 2) you do need an ao3 account to read this fic.

besides that, this fic is so beautiful and holds an extra special place in my heart. this fic isn’t really about Jin and Namjoon, it’s more about everything else surrounding their romantic relationship; their friendship, their internal struggles, the other impactful people in their lives. it’s about their personal journeys, but the fic is also a platform to discuss some really important issues in a very thoughtful way. I’m not sure how to explain it well, but even though this fic is really sad at times, the parts that made me cry were the hopeful ones, the parts that made me feel like everything was going to be okay.

I Don't Regret a Thing by  HeavenlyHell [Yoonseok]

Hoseok is a host working in a shadier part of town, living in a small apartment complex just away from the main and busy buzz of the big city. All he really was planning to do was get some gross food and continue his gross life, but he also manages to spot a very gross (and bloody, which is gross) body on the ground. Except, the body is alive, and upon closer inspection, isn't as gross as it seems.

this fic is actually kind of funny and cute. if you want something lighter (especially compared to the previous two) this is a good option. also I want Yoongi’s hair.

Creating a Home by CheekyBrunette [Namjin]

(I didn’t put an official summary for this one because it’s actually a series)

Foster Care AU- it’s literally the softest, cutest, sweetest thing you will ever read oh my god I love kid fics so much they’re so cute. this one actually deals with some heavy stuff since it’s the foster care system, and so there’s tough situations that put them in the system, but many of the kids also find new difficulties once they’re in the system. but seriously, nothing will make your heart suffer more than little kid bangtan. btw, Namjin are the parents. IT’S SO FLUFFY. like, even when Jin is losing his mind and it feels like shit is falling apart, it is immediately fluffy after.

On Patrol by  Ragi [Jikook/Yoonseok/Namjin]

Officer Jeon has his eyes on Mr. Adorable.

Officer Min has a strange neighbor he can't seem to keep out of his life.

Captain Kim finds comfort in his son's homeroom teacher.

Well, cops need some loving too, right?

that’s the summary for part 1, but it’s actually a two-part series. the summary makes it sound super fluffy, but there’s actually a fair amount of violence and angst. it’s all happy in the end though, don’t worry. (I basically only read fics with happy endings) also, kid Tae is so cuteee.

i've been drinking, i've been drinking by decompositionbooks [Jikook]

Jungkook tries to figure Jimin out with Yoongi's trademarked "What Your Drink Says About You" alcohol psychoanalysis.

All he knows is that Jimin likes fruity little drinks.

this one is really cute and a little sad. the best part of this fic for me was the fact that it really improved my knowledge of drinks lol

doubt thou the stars are fire by iwillalwaysbelieve [Jikook/Yoonseok]

Jeon Jeongguk's got a Reputation™. Park Jimin learns how to not give a shit about it. 

this one is really short but really cute : )

White Chalk by g_odalisque13 [Taegi]

Yoongi had been aware of the shadow for as long as he could remember.

Sometimes he went months without feeling like it was just a few steps behind him or waiting around the next corner. But no matter how long he was able to avoid it, it always came back. Always.

It's 1993, and Yoongi is a music major starting his sophomore year in college. A bunch of stupid dares from his friends aren't supposed to turn his world upside down. Then again, maybe it's not the dares. Maybe it's just Taehyung.

I don’t know how to effectively describe how much I love this fic, but I love this fic so damn much. it’s just so well written and funny and genuine and it’s really honest and nice and it makes me happy

tie the knot by jivenchys (bareJinerals) [Jikook]

Either stay married to an arrogantly conceited billionaire for one year and get a million dollars in return, or drown in his father’s debt with the risk of ending up on the streets. Signing the prenup suddenly seems harder than it looks.

mate let me tell you, this is the slowest fucking slowburn you will ever read in the history or slowburn. every other fic on this list is complete except for this one, but even though this one is still in progress, it’s so fucking good that it’s definitely worth the wait. I have not felt excitement equivalent to that when I saw that this fic was updated recently. even though it’s still in progress, this is one of my all time favorites

hey, you never walk alone by deuxoiseaux [Yoonseok]

"Are you stalking me, or something?" Hoseok demands, more than loud enough for his voice to carry to the roof of the two-story building overhead. "This is seriously the fourth time I've seen you today alone! What is your deal? Why are you always everywhere I go lately?"

The man in the red and blue suit peeks down at Hoseok from the rooftop ledge. "...I thought I was being stealthy," he answers, and Hoseok can hear the pout in his voice even with his face hidden behind that mask. It's kind of endearing, even if it's still annoying.

(or: the spiderman au nobody asked for but exists now, i guess)

this is so cute! it’s a really short fic, but I love the characterizations a lot : )

a sugar coated pill and a pick me up by whomstisthis [Namjin]

As Namjoon stood slightly removed from the scene, bemusedly watching the six-year-olds swarm around his cooler (which he had borrowed from his mom), he didn’t even notice that someone had sidled up next to him until he heard the tiny, but undoubtedly exasperated, huff.

He followed the sound, turning his head to the right. A guy was standing there, arms crossed, lips pursed. He let out another huff, louder this time, but only slightly.

Namjoon refused to acknowledge him. What the fuck was this guy’s deal? Was he really that bitter that his six-year-old just lost a soccer game for six-year-olds?

One more huff from the guy.

He was beginning to think this guy’s lips were just perpetually pursed and would simply never, ever unpurse themselves, when he, the guy, finally unpursed his lips to speak.

“I just think it’s pretty irresponsible to bring Gatorade to a soccer game for first graders,” he said, huffily, “No offense.”

(or: namjin are soccer dads who fall in luv)

kid!tae and kid!kook are friends and it’s really cute and also I love Jin and Joon’s banter. also, this is explicitly set in new york, which makes for an interesting cultural cross. (and completely unrelated, this fic taught me about Richard Siken, who is a heart wrenching poet)

Of Lace Panties and Accidental Magic by jonghyunslisterine [Jikook]

In which a meddlesome teenage witch makes a considerable mistake mixing her potions.

(Or; Jungkook can't lie, Jimin's not looking like himself, and everyone knows Jungkook's in love with Jimin - except Jimin.)

this one of the few cisgirl!bangtan fics that I like (even though Jimin’s not technically a girl). often the whole “bangtan as girls au” thing feels kind of forced, but here Jimin’s gender thing is actually constructive to the fic rather than distracting. it’s really cute and jikook are a whole mess but it’s fine

hounds of love by fitzgarbage [Namjin]

Seokjin hasn't been back in a long time.

it’s kind of melancholy but it’s really well written. the last tag is “some characters are sad”. yeah. a large part of this fic is about growth and self discovery and I think that’s really why I like it.

girls just want to have fun by fitzgarbage [Yoonseok/Vmin/Namjin/Jinkook]

“Namjoon told me you’d probably be haunting a corner. I didn’t know what he meant, but I think I get it now.” He’s breathing hard. “I knew you right away. You look really good, by the way.”

transgender, intersex, and nb characters. I have a lot of things to say about this fic but my brain isn’t really working right now so I may end up having to make a separate post. I just have a lot of things to say about this fic. there are some fics that aren’t just enjoyable to read, they’re also important to read. that’s this. fair warning, you’re going to want to wrap everyone in blankets and protect them from the world forever after you’re done reading this.

Internecine by jawsbar (GryfoTheGreat) [Yoonseok]

Everyone gets a soulmate. You don't get a choice in the matter. Fate decides who you love, whether you like it or not, and to her credit, she usually gets it right.

This time, Fate fucks up. Like, majorly.

(Or: Failed idol Jung Hoseok is bonded to the very person who destroyed his dream.)

HOLY SHIT. SO FUCKING GOOD. READ THIS. JUST DO IT. I DON’T CARE IF IT TAKES YOU A WEEK. JUST DO IT. there’s a lot of real issues within the industry that the author talks about and it’s things that you might already know about and things that you may not know about. it’s really informative and beautiful and amazing and just go read it. (also the author is a sweetheart, super nice person : ))

harvest moon, recall your youth by blackranger (robpatFF)[Taegi/Namseok/Jikookjin]

“How drunk was I?” Yoongi asks. “Did I seriously tell you my whole life story before we hooked up?”

“No,” Taehyung giggles. “Silly Min Yoongi. You told me your life story before we got married. Then we fucked. Like a honeymoon, you know?”

Or, Yoongi and Taehyung get drunk married in Las Vegas.

the taegi is really sweet and the namseok is nice too

the waiting game by bonnia [Jikook]

It’s a waiting game. Jimin knows that Jungkook doesn’t have to come back, but with every little touch, every time Jungkook does, and every time Jungkook lies down right next to him, pressed up close, torturously warm and smelling like cigarette smoke and cologne, Jimin can’t help but feel like he could — would — wait years just for Jungkook to come back to him again.

(Or: In which Jimin is a prostitute and Jungkook is his favourite customer.)

it’s really sad and then it’s really sweet. Kookie is a sweetheart and Jimin needs a hug

boy, you got my heartbeat runnin' away by 777335

Summer before his third year, Hoseok says he wants to move out of the dorms and Yoongi replies easily, “My lease is almost up, wanna get a place together?”

Hoseok can’t speak for a second, just wants.

“Seok?” Yoongi says, pushing his glasses up with the heel of his hand, tongue poking into his cheek nervously. “We don’t— we don’t have to, never mind.”

“No,” Hoseok says, taking the half step to their table, sliding Yoongi’s beer toward him, settling on his stool with his caipirinha. He chews on the straw. “No, no,” he can feel the smile breaking across his face, “that sounds great, that sounds really nice. Holy shit, yeah, let’s do it.”

“Yeah?” A shy smile touches the corners of Yoongi’s mouth. “Yeah? Okay. We could get a couch for Holly.”

//

or hoseok and yoongi meet on the internet, become friends, both end up in seoul, become better friends, move in together, and then eat some pancakes. oh, also they make out.

it’s really cute! they’re so sweet and they actually communicate and it’s nice and they kind of remind me of my relationship with someone very close to me ; )

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I have some more recs, but I wanted to post these so that this didn’t sit in my drafts forever lol. happy reading! dm me if you love any of these a lot and we can gush together : )))

[florcarrow]

Merlin’s beard, what is ( FLORA CARROW ) doing out at this hour? For a ( PUREBLOOD ) who is ( 17 ) years old, ( SHE ) really ought to know better. You know, I hear that they’re aligned with ( THE NEUTRALS ), but that could be just a rumor. I do know that they’re ( A CIS-WOMAN ) and a ( SLYTHERIN ) student though. They’re very ( QUAINT ) and ( INTROSPECTIVE ) but also quite ( STOIC ) and ( HAUGHTY ), which could be why they remind of ( STAINED PAGES, FROM CRUSHED LILLIES IN THE PLACE OF BOOKMARKS; GHOSTLY WHISPERS FROM THE INSIDE OF A CLOSED ROOM, ALLUDING TO ANGER, TO FEAR, TO LOVE; THE SOUND OF BUBBLING AND FOAMING, BUT THE ABSENCE OF WARMTH ). Some people say they’re the spitting image of ( SOPHIE TURNER ), but I’ve never heard of them. ( &&. CAMI. 19. GMT. SHE/HER. )

hey yall, cami here. i’m really tired but take this please ily k bye

THE CARROWS

" we are the children of magic itself. " her mother used to put it all in quite a poetic manner. the small house, gloomy and damp, had a floating candle under each painting and photograph of long-forgotten carrows, once the ministers and headmasters of entire generations. blunders happened along the way, as it happened to every other pureblood family, and the paintings were thrown in the fireplace or into the creek running behind the property - the carrows had a deeply ingrained culture of glorifying their legacy, but ruthlessly turning it to ash should it not benefit them.

the great fortune of old was wasted by lavish living, and by the time achos carrow married to an insignificant selwyn, the debt ran deep - certainly aided by the heavy involvement of the family in the first wizarding war. in the stories flora was told, they were martyrs, sacrificing their kin and gold for a greater purpose, mourning the injustice of her uncle amycus and aunt alecto, behind bars. of course, it was easy to let stories fester in the minds of children, miles away from the truth - achos and ellaine had moved to a plot of land hidden between the welsh mounds shortly before their children arrived, and for far too many years, they lived mostly in their own forgotten country, where north was down, south was up, history was a puzzle they would rearrange.

their marriage is a happy one, the product of two lifelong friends with their minds set on one cause only, with the same trains of thought. after giving birth to twin girls, the couple saw in them the tabua rasa they so yearned for at work, in the department of magical education. try as they might, children had entire lives before going to hogwarts, and their efforts, even if the rest of the department wasn't in the way most times, was purely too little too late. hestia and flora would change that, becoming their personal experiments.

CHILDHOOD

given how well little flora took to stories, the carrows would spend endless hours sitting down with her, spewing all thoughts they saw fit, and she'd stare, deep in concentration, quiet end still, what an exemplary student. the image they so carefully curated of a small, charming and polite family was spreading.

soon, however, the well-screened tutors and especially the words of her parents were not enough. flora took to reading as soon as she learned how, and in books she could find new subjects, different people they'd never mentioned, fantasy that sounded much more real than the hollow concept of the dark lord. magic was all around her, but in those pages and in the dusty illustrations she felt every spell. once a little girl who did not ask questions, flora became a fountain of confusions, mostly met with 'who told you that?'.

the frustration towards the younger twin only grew over time. flora's favourite game became a sort of hide and seek, where she'd hide somewhere in the house or the rest of the property, telling no soul or perhaps hestia, at times, and waiting until the screams with her name began. it was fascinating to count how long it took for her little world to notice her absence, how they'd react, how sometimes her mother would begin crying after some hours, how a relative or family friend might be called in to help scour the fields for the little girl. there was something powerful in observing annoyance, anger, and above all fear, yet control when it all starts, when it all ends. in a place strictly manipulated by the two gods of the house, this was when she turned the tables, even if just for a bit. eventually, however, concern faded away. by twelve, she could disappear for the longest stretches, as long as she returned without a speck of dirt and in time for lessons or dinner - and of course, if she didn't meet with anyone but the household.

as a sidenote, someone bring hestia, lets plot more then, cmON

HOGWARTS

before going to hogwarts, flora and hestia had gone to the usual parties and celebrations the purebloods so fancied, and some ministry events where they could be shown off like school projects. they hadn't, however, seen much more than that. the prospect of getting wands, robes, boarding on a train - all little things that identified them as beings, individuals who were more than just a name and affiliation - it meant the world for flora. she relished in the way the shop owner told her father he couldn't keep giving flora the wands the man suggested until the exact one he envisioned worked. she held her ticket with the care one touches thin glass. she walked around the train with a smile thrown at every other first year kid, even began conversations with some. some people in her year still tease her about how much she's changed since that day.

the hat placed on her head took a minute or so to decide, being pulled in the directions of slytherin and ravenclaw, but flora knew which answer would make her parents, two slytherin alumni, the most satisfied. now she wonders if the opposite choice would have positioned her in any way farther away from the heart of the conflict.

flora grew quite happy at hogwarts. the library was the stuff of dreams, the classes a fresh new world, and she'd been lucky enough (or so she'd thought) to have gone to school the same year as the boy who lived, a story that she could never quite believe, even with the boy sitting in class right in front of her. in many ways, flora saw herself as the observer of the perfect spectacle throughout the years, her journals serving as the proof that she'd been the face in the crowd of the myths. flora read other points of view at the library, and heard them in her common room, creating in her mind her own narrative of harry potter, of the war, of the carrows.

her personal library grew even more during school. the easy access to other kids and to hogsmeade resulted in trunks getting heavier and heavier every summer, even sometimes with muggle names she couldn't dare let her family see. to her, none of that ever mattered. words were words, no matter who wrote them, and all she cared about was what incredible tales they told and how they made her feel.

her studious nature thrived at hogwarts, and her grades, while not beyond impressive, were rather good. flora always loved potions above all. she did quite well at all subjects, but she got into the slughorn club not only because of her name, but because of her talent. it was the one thing that felt precise and rational when everything else wasn’t.

while she was a quiet figure, either lurking in some forgotten couch in the common room, on her bed, or beneath a tree, flora showed to the people at hogwarts something her parents only got inklings of. her words often carried venom, and her words an edge as sharp as a cut - a few people even got frontstage to what happened when flora carrow held too much of that poison in herself and it spilled out, the burning flame of anger, the way her voice would at last raise above a whisper.

her parents feared that spark they sometimes saw. she was becoming a volatile little thing, a disgrace upon their projects and a threat to the legacy they'd been so carefully building. a few months ago a discussion began over what to do, a very public one, as a way to instill fear in the girl: perhaps flora needed a proper marriage plan, just like her grandparents and just like far too many of her peers - someone who'd control her, who'd bring some much-needed coin to the family, someone to DISTRACT her. they did, after all, always know of her affection for hopelessly romantic tales, even if they'd never heard of any boy she'd daydream of (and they never would). perhaps flora needed a goal, a purpose like the oath other people from her school had taken upon, like her uncle and aunt before her. a good potioneer like her could become a valuable investment for the dark lord.

HEADCANONS

as much as flora hates to admit it, there’s this hunger for power in the back of her mind that she can’t shut down. she enjoys feeling important, like the name she carries or the blood in her veins places her higher in a contest for worthiness.

umbridge was a personal friend of her parents, and flora saw her as the intrusion of the manipulating hand she knew all summer in the few months she had of freedom. resenting it, she did the most to fail the class, being called to her office often to discuss how her parents would be embarrassed and how dolores believed she could do much better. she just barely finished it.

how does flora feel about the whole muggleborn ‘debate’? she never really cared about it. it was too removed from her. it never personally affected her. she didn’t go out of her way to bully and attack muggleborns or ‘blood traitors’, but she wouldn’t exactly tell others to stop. perhaps insist that she was bored and they should just leave. she never stopped to analyze why she did that sometimes. she just doesn’t care. in fact, all of the events of late seem to barely make an impression upon her, except when they come with the threat of her having to actively participate in it. flora sees the entire conflict as the mighty pureblooded families losing relevancy and trying their hardest to gain it back; a petty little thing - she doesn't, however, grasp the reality that people have died for it, and innocents have been murdered. the details require emotional introspect she does not possess.

she is !! practically mute but if u get her to talk u see bitch is actually very angry?? all the time?? hulk whomst.  angry and annoyed and detached

flora has a hard time grasping the emotional weight of events unless she's writing about them. ever since she can remember, flora has kept journals, parts of it accounts of her days, most of it short stories and poems that serve as practice writing and as a fictionalization of the harsh reality around her. reading dumbledore's murder or the murder of ministry officials little stories about the fragility of mankind and the shortcomings of magic simply makes it easier to understand and cope with.

she loves potions and books. her dream is to just be an old witch living in a forest cottage in wales with ten cats and an equally as quiet girlfriend, brewing the potions that take weeks to complete, writing poems she forgets to put away, the scent of lavender in the air almost sickening.

flora has a little garden at home which she loves with all her heart. she truly cares for her plants, despite how much on the nose that is with her name. at hogwarts she keeps a couple of small pots hidden in the greenhouse.

doesn't own a single pair of jeans or pants. will live her entire life in dresses and skirts and is just fine like that.

she thinks the people fighting against the death eaters are also stupid and cruel. literally takes the term neutral and turns it into apathy and will openly speak about it with that specific dosage of venom should she trust you enough.

your back hurts? your hair needs to grow faster? want to poison someone? flora will gladly brew little batches of potions in her spare time and sell them within school grounds.

lowkey needs a hug and someone who'll take the time to really listen to hER

she also likes to walk around at night, trying her best not to get caught at home by her parents and by prefects at school. it freaks people out when at 3am they hear footsteps and the light from a wand, even if just around the room or the common area. she likes the creepy factor, completely embraces it, people sometimes find her reading with her back to their front doors or doing homework behind some plants in the greenhouse. dark forgotten places are her places.

she has a cat, he’s old and ugly and his name is moros like the greek god of doom. he hates everyone, most times including flora. he's not a nice cat and she'd tear a man limb by limb for him.

flor is constantly writing. unfinished projects are her thing. poetry, prose, plays, journaling. poetry is what she usually dedicates herself most. she has an eye for rhythm in words, and feelings. everything she writes is always either too hopeful and naive, or pessimistic and sad. she doesn’t know an in-between. that goes to say for her life as well. flora dreams of all the pretty perfect pure things she knows aren’t real. all the well-intentioned kisses and soft pink flowery dresses flowing in the wind, and small cottages in the middle of a field and delicate generations old tea sets. this pristine romanticized aesthetic

on the other hand, when her writing is sad, it’s not just sad. it’s miserable. it’s worrying. she talks about that even less. all the scary intrusive thoughts that come to her mind. all the holes she can’t explain why she could never fill. all the numbness that attacks her some days and she can’t fight it back. this loneliness that makes no sense.

okay in a nutshell, she loves her sister more than anything and anyone in the world, she is more naive than she lets on, she doesn’t let on much because she’s so quiet, she loves books and has pretty hair. this wasn’t mentioned anywhere but she does.

[thornswithroses]

I’ve been a ghost in this hellsite, and I decided to do a book questionnaire based on @dhaaruni‘s own take on the New Yorker’s “By the Book.” 

Here we go.

What books are on your nightstand? 

I used to keep what I’m currently reading on my nightstand, but unfortunately, said nightstand is too small for the number of books I am reading. Right now, the nightstand holds my sleeping mask, bookmarks in a box, hand cream, and my Himalayan salt lamp. 

Marie Kondo has been a blessing for my bedroom, so I keep all the books that I have, including library books, on my shelves.

What’s the last book that really excited you?

Oh, so many. I’ve checked out from my library the Jacob Tobias memoir, Sissy: A Coming-of-Gender Story. I am close to done with Patricia A. McKillip’s elegant Alphabet of Thorn. I also checked out We Need to Talk: How to Have Conversations That Matter by Celeste Headlee. There is also California dreamin' by Penelope Bagieu. 

And to show off just how often I abuse my library card, I also have on interlibrary loan: The Art of Eating by M.F.K. Fisher, The Palestinian Table by Reem Kassis, and House of Psychotic Women: An Autobiographical Topography of Female Neurosis in Horror and Exploitation Films by Kier-La Janisse.

I recently bought two titles that I am enthused to read as soon as I get the chance. Olivia Waite’s The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics and C.S.E. Cooney’s Desdemona and the Deep.

Now you can see what I meant about my nightstand being too small! 

What’s your favorite book no one else has heard of?

Oh, lord, too many to name! Angela Carter has been getting more notice as of late, but I still think she needs more recognition. I feel the same way about Caitlín R. Kiernan. I also think everybody should give Sarah Monette/Katherine Addison’s The Goblin Emperor a try!

What book should everybody read before the age of 21?

The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter. 

What book would you recommend to people over 40?

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. I can’t say precisely how, but it feels like it captures the pain of youth. I think they should also read Francesca Lia Block. I think she captures what young women dream about and what they hurt over really well.

Which writers — novelists, playwrights, critics, journalists, poets — working today do you admire most?

C.S.E. Cooney is marvelous. I have also been enjoying Courtney Milan’s romances as well as her contemporaries’ works. There is Sarah Monette, Sarah Waters, Donna Tartt, Beverly Jenkins, so many women to admire. If anyone ever decries writing today as not being “good as it used to be,” they’re fucking hacks.

What moves you most in a work of literature?

When a character realizes they deserve better, especially if it’s a woman that recognizes this.

Do you prefer books that reach you emotionally or intellectually?

I think they have to be intelligent to know how to get to me emotionally. There is no distinct line between emotion and intelligence, in fact, it can be argued that you cannot have one without the other. Otherwise, intelligence just becomes a coldness, and emotionality becomes hysteria.

What’s the most interesting thing you learned from a book recently?

I think Marie Kondo’s work really taught me to value the things I own. When I was doing the KonMari method, I discovered these birthday cards that my late grandfather had given to me as a child. They had been buried under useless papers that I never bothered to toss aside. It is scary to think about U.S. consumerism, but then again, I do have socialist leanings so hah. 

Which genres do you especially enjoy reading? And which do you avoid?

I love romance. I am a romantic person, so I always get excited about romance in a romance novel, or within a horror story, fantasy, and so forth. I like reading about different relationships, such as siblings, parents-and-children, in-laws, friendships, and so forth. I think the complexities of human relations is essential to me as a reader.

I don’t like Westerns, I will be honest. I see them, and I think propaganda. I’m Mexican and Palestinian, and I can’t unsee the subtext of white people moving to the west, using God as a tool to justify taking from Native Americans. John Wayne is no hero.

I think the closest to a Western I have ever enjoyed was the anime, Trigun. And that deals with human beings of all backgrounds settling in a new planet, so there you go.

What’s the best book you’ve ever received as a gift?

My dad got me a book that was entire of Grimm’ fairy tales, from the famous ones to the least-known. And these stories were the version where Cinderella’s doves took out the eyes of her sisters. So, you can imagine how this influenced eight-year-old me to become the person I am today. 

Who is your favorite fictional hero or heroine? Your favorite antihero or villain?

Oh, this is hard. I’m going to have to give a cop-out answer and say there are too many to name. 

What kind of reader were you as a child? Which childhood books and authors stick with you most?

I was a late-bloomer. All the kids in my first-grade class already knew to read since kindergarten. I did not. I had these two fantastic reading teachers that eventually taught me. I may have started later than all my classmates, but I ended up becoming more well-read than they did. I would go to the elementary school library three-to-four times a week to check out books. The librarians really enjoyed me. 

I was bullied a lot growing up, so books were my way to heal. Francesca Lia Block’s Violet and Claire really shaped me as did fairy tales and Greek mythology. I also read Blood and Chocolate in middle school, and I had never met a main character as unapologetically sexual as Vivian. I think that book really influenced some of my feminism, despite its other issues. There was also The Witch from Blackbird Pond. Oh, and the Animorphs series. There was also the Babysitter’s Club books, which really made me want female friendships portrayed more often in other stories. A Corner of the Universe, which is also by Ann M. Martin, really impacted me--it is troubling how much I ended up relating to Adam in that story.

You’re a digital native, and your publisher describes you as “what Susan Sontag would have been like if she had brain damage from the internet.” Do you find it difficult to tune out distractions and sink into a book?

I do, mostly I blame it on graduate school burning me out. I also work full-time, so my brain sometimes just wants to shut off, and I look up stupid stuff on the Internet. I think I am getting a little better about it though. I try to clean my space as much as possible, and that helps clear my mind.

Disappointing, overrated, just not good: What book did you feel as if you were supposed to like, and didn’t? Do you remember the last book you put down without finishing?

V.E. Schwab’s A Darker Shade of Magic. I mean, I did end up liking it, but not too much. I actually forgot most of the plot. I can say that I like Kell and Holland a lot. The rest of the book had great ideas and mostly good executions of those ideas, but the narrative had an air of superficiality that I just couldn’t get over. Also, I was legitimately frustrated by Lila Bard. She had to be one of the cheapest depictions of Strong Female Character I’ve seen in a long time. I couldn’t get into the Hunger Games either. I gave up on A Song of Ice and Fire halfway through. 

What books are you embarrassed not to have read yet?

I don’t get embarrassed as much about that sort of thing these days. I do want to read Angela Carter’s entire bibliography one day. I also want to read the unread books on my shelves.

What do you plan to read next?

Angela Carter and some progressive Catholic works, hopefully. 

[thebestoftimes]

50 QUESTION BOOK TAG FOR WORLD BOOK DAY

By me, Jess. I made this for world book day but then got depressed and didn’t post it on time lmao but here ya go kids be warned though it’s a long one. Also the numbers thing got fucked up and I couldn’t fix it.  I got a lot of these questions from other tags I’ve seen and google so if something sounds familiar... that’s why.

Who or what sparked your love of literature?

Aw my parents fueled my book habit when I was a kid and took me to the bookstore all the time and since then all my teachers have always encouraged me and made me love books even more than I thought possible.

Do you have an ‘odd’ book habit? (page sniffing/never leaving the house with a book)

It’s true that I never go anywhere without a book. I got one in my backpack or purse or reading on my phone but it’s always there.

Do you have a book that you think has changed your life? How?

A lot of books and series have made significant impacts on my life (like I can’t picture elementary school without Percy Jackson being in my life) but like as a person I can’t think of any one book that has changed who I am. It’s been a team effort.

Which book have you reread most frequently?

I think I reread Hush Hush every year lmao idk why

You can meet any author and ask one question. What author would you chose and what question would you ask?

I’d want to meet Shakespeare and ask him if all his characters really were just that gay or if we’re all reading too much into it.

Best book published this year so far?

It’s only March but The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

Imagine you’ve started a book and don’t like it. Do you see the experience through to the bitter end, or are you able to talk away from it mid story?

I used to always finish what I started but now that I’m in college and have a mountain of a TBR I’ll just stop.

What book is top of your wish list/TBR pile?

Uhh A Winter’s Promise by Christelle Dabos  is on top rn

Favourite place to read?

My bed. Boring but a classic.

If you buy books, do you lend them out? Ever had a bad experience?

Of course. No all my friends respect my stuff and return them promptly.

What fictional character do you ship yourself with?

So many but I think Gansey and I from The Raven Cycle would make the best couple.

Weirdest thing you’ve used as a bookmark

I use whatever near me so I might have done something weirder but lately I’ve been using tissues because I have a tissue box by my bed and never real bookmarks. But I’ve used graded homework, a toy car, a crayon, earbuds, etc.

Favorite quality/qualities in a protagonist and antagonist

Wow this is s hard okay for protag I am a sucker for like stubborn, smartass with a martyr complex. Sad but true. Antags I love a good morally grey character or anti-villain. Tragic backstory but smart as hell. The worst (the best). Characters like the Darkling from The Grisha Trilogy, and Warner from the first Shatter Me book (I know he’s a good guy NOW but back then we all thought he was a sadistic and sexy villain).

Favorite genre and favorite book from that genre.

YA Urban Fantasy babyyy and that’d be City of Bones by Cassandra Clare or Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare:)

  Best/worst movie adaptation in your eyes

Best: Harry Potter and The Hunger Games | Worst: Percy Jackson

Do you prefer reading your own books, or library books?

My own.

How do you choose your next book to read?

Literally whatever I’m feeling like at the moment.

Your favorite word.

I love many words but I have a soft spot for “lively” and “lilt”.

Book that got you hooked on reading/how you got hooked.

I’ve always been obsessed with reading but The Peter and the Starcatchers Series was like my shift from nicotine to heroine.

Opinion on dog-earing, margin writing, ect.

I only write in the margins of books I have to read for class/textbooks. And that’s for studying and active reading purposes. For any other situation: no.

Top 5 immediate to read in no order

A Winter’s Promise by Christelle Dabos

A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

The Wicker King by K. Ancrum

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E Schwab

Most underrated book you’ve read

Definitely The Foxhole Court/ All for the Game series. Fairly small fanbase for some of THE most amazing books I’ve ever read. And the memes will have you in stitches.

What is the first book that catches your eye when you look at your bookshelf?

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell because of the exceedingly bright cover/spine haha

How do you arrange your books on your shelves?

LOL I do not have a system at all. I keep series and authors together and that’s it. Everything is placed where there is room.

You have the power to change a book’s ending. Which ending would you change and what would you make happen instead?

I’d change the end to Allegiant and SPOILERS SPOILERS not make Tris fucking die over her shitty ass brother. I know why she did it but like Veronica girl wyd with that. And I’d want the entirety of Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins to be rewritten into a book that just focused on the domestic life of Finnick and Annie and no one dies.

Favourite book cover?

This is SO HARD. Either The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin or Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

Which book from your childhood has had the most impact on you?

My entire personality was shaped by the Maxmimum Ride series by James Patterson. For better and worse.

When reading, what do you value most: writing style, characters, plot, world building, pacing, etc?

Characters. I think all of those things are essential and as I read more and more, the pickier I get, but I find myself leaning towards being a fan of a book when I become obsessed with the characters. Like hey!! New friends!!! For my brain!!!

Do you prefer buying books or borrowing them from a library/friend?

Buying them even though I shouldn’t. It’s a real problem.

What books/sequels that are being published this year are you most excited for?

SO MANY OH MY GOD

Okay some of these already came out because it’s March right now but I’ll include them anyways.

SEQUELS/ SPIN-OFFS AND SHIT

The Wicked King by Holly Black; King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo; Dream by Natalia Jaster; Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare; The Red Scrolls of Magic by Cassandra Clare; Capturing the Devil by Kerri Maniscalco, Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater; Defy Me by Tahereh Mafi; The Shaw Confessions #3 by Michelle Hodkin

FIRST BOOKS

The Binding by Bridget Collins; Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan; The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi; A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer; Romanov by Nadine Brandes; The Infinite Noise by Lauren Shippen; The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh

Which fictional character would you want as a sidekick?

Percy Jackson because he’s my firstborn son and one of my favourite characters of all time. He is talented, smart, hilarious, an amazing friend, and the sweetest of boys (when he isn’t the sassiest of boys).

How many books have you read so far this year?

Only 15 I am so behind :(

What’s been your favourite read so far this year?

Oh man. Gotta be Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo :)

You’re stuck on an island with a suitcase big enough to hold five books. What books are they?

I probably shouldn’t cheat and say How to Build a Boat huh

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

The King’s Men by Nora Sakovic

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

If you had to go out to dinner with any character who would it be and why? What would you talk about?

Will Herondale and we’d talk about books

Is there a book you have such a hatred for that you would throw it off of the highest tower knowing that the last copy of it will be destroyed so that not another living soul can read it or would you rather keep it and give it to someone else who might actually enjoy it?

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne or After by Anna Todd

Do you believe books make nice decoration?

I mean. I think they should be read before used as decor but I love showing off my books so I guess both. But I don’t believe in buying books for the purpose of decoration instead of reference or reading lol

Do you listen to music when you read? Or do you need complete silence? 

I need silence or low amount of white noise. I used to read and listen to Taylor Swift when I was a kid but I can’t do it anymore.

Do you have a favorite book? If not are you in the group that believes there are too many great books out there to just choose one?

I tell people it’s City of Bones by Cassandra Clare but in all honesty no I don’t have a favourite.

Do you sleep with books under your pillow.

Nope

Do you go to the library or do you have a book buying addiction or are you one of those lucky people who is able to do both?

I do both. Mostly bookstore though.

Own any book inspired clothing?

Yes. Several items :)

Have you ever read a book in another language?

I read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Tristan and Isolde, and Beauty and the Beast in French. And parts of Les Mis.

Strangest book you’ve ever read?

John Dies at the End by David Wong. Still not sure exactly what was going on. 

Favourite type of non-fiction?

Memoirs babey

Favourite non-fiction?

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

Favourite subject to read about?

History

Favourite book you’ve read in school?

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Favourite work of Shakespeare?

Hamlet

Character you’d love as a mom or dad or guardian?

Hmm Sally Jackson, The Women of 300 Fox Way, or Tessa and Will (they totally count because The Last Hours Series)

I tag literally whoever wants to do this and @fangirl-daydreamer97 @acleeds12 @iviisastrawberry @221bdoom @bicycles-bees-bisexuals @betterthanapit @dippindots126 @vlctorvale

[monsterleadmehome]

Reylo Fic Rec Masterpost

Since I’ve been asked a couple times for fic recommendations, I decided to create a master list, which I’ll (hopefully) come back to and update. This is by no means comprehensive, but they are works I’ve thoroughly enjoyed and wanted to share. You can also always check out my bookmarks page on AO3.

I have updated these with ratings, but be warned they are mostly M or E. Smut not your thing? Check my smut-free recs here! Remember to mind the tags! 

*Indicates WIP

Let’s start with some little known fics. These are all under 100 kudos as of June 19, 2018. Make sure to leave a comment and/or give kudos if you read!

Ties That Bind* by @phoenixsolo -- Rated M. This fic is wonderfully written and jumps between multiple POVs. Also some great Poe and Wedge Antilles interaction which is fun. 

Holonet Mail by MelodeeKS99 (not sure of tumblr) -- Rated T. This is the cutest You’ve Got Mail AU one-shot but still takes place in universe. Ben and Rey are both smugglers. Guys, it’s adorable.

A Veil of Smoke* by @binarysvnrise -- Rated M. ASOIAF AU that is just masterfully thought out and so well-written. NO LONGER ON HIATUS. 

come and knock on my door* by jadeddiva -- Rated T. This is a really cute modern AU where Ben is a programmer at a startup and Rey is his college student neighbor. They meet because both their roommates have kicked them out to have sex.

every inch between us becomes light years by @spookykingdomstarlight -- Rated M. A beautiful one-shot that is both super sexy and sad. It hurts, but in a good way.

Cloudbusting by @bratanimus -- Rated T. Beautifully written and short. Just read it.

In-Universe Fics:

Sword of the Jedi series by @kylorenvevo -- Part 1 Rated T, Part 2 Rated M. Are you even a real Reylo if you haven’t read this? J/K, but seriously this was one of the earliest fics I read when I fell into the Reylo trash bin, and it is a masterpiece. AU where Rey and Ben grew up together at the Jedi Academy. It reads like canon novels. Not kidding.

Crossroads series by @gizkasparadise -- Part 1 T, Part 2 E, Part 3 T. This is an emotional rollercoaster in 3 parts. It’s got angst, it’s got the pre-TLJ Force Bond, it’s got memory loss, and some really kickass supporting characters. I just love it so much.

You’ll Be the One to Turn by @postedbygaslight -- Rated M. This is THE post-TLJ fic you need to be reading. It’s still a WIP at this point, but it’s sure to be completed soon, and like I told Posted before, if EP IX winds up totally letting me down, this will be the only version of events I accept. It is insanely well-written, gripping, and emotional. Just read it. 

Infectious by @dvrkrey -- Rated E. Also known as the sick!fic. It’s a poignant hurt/comfort post-TLJ imagining with a beautiful first time love scene. This one has a special place in my heart.

In The Early Dawn of Happiness by @corseque -- Rated E. GAH! This is beautiful and touching and even though it’s a reylohardkinks fill, it’s so much more than that. It is profoundly sweet, and if we’re lucky, there will be another chapter. 

landscape with a blur of conquerors* by @kylorenvevo -- Rated E. I’m assuming if you haven’t heard of this fic, you’ve been trapped on Ahch-To with Luke for too long. The arranged marriage AU with plenty of Hapan couture fashion to keep poor Kylo occupied.

Across the Stars* by @nite0wl29 -- Rated E. A Beauty and the Beast AU set in-universe (on Chandrila!). Rey falls for Kylo without him ever taking the mask off, and I think that’s beautiful. It’s got all the best elements of TFA, TLJ, and BatB. This one also should be wrapping up soon.

Songs of Innocence, Songs of Wisdom* by @cosmo-gonika -- Rated E. Another post-TLJ fic that has been blowing my mind. It has some mystical Force elements and some steamy scenes with Rey and Kylo. It does a really great job of showing where our star-crossed lovers are still not on the same page (but hopefully they’ll be there by the end!). 

The Descent of Ishtar by @assortedfruitsnacks212 -- Rated M. This is a trippy post-TLJ fic that is super mystical and really intriguing. It’s so well-written, and I might have to light a fire under the author to get her to update this because I NEED MORE.

Id by @dreamsdescent -- Rated E. A smutty one-shot where Rey fulfills Ben’s darkest fantasy. It’s hot. Do yourself a favor and read it.

Mood Lighting by @raven-maiden -- Rated E. This is based on the closeup of the MF captain’s quarters in Solo. It is a beautiful one shot with humor, soul, and (yes!) smut. Can’t believe it’s her first fic! 

World In My Eyes by @mygrandmathinksimsassy -- Rated M. Apparently I had been sleeping on this post-TLJ gem? It’s 96k words and recently completed, so you can settle down with this on a rainy day. Beautifully written, really sexy, and has a happy ending! I loved it.

AU Fics:

Blades Crossed by @the-reylo-void -- Rated M. A really amazing figure skating modern AU a la The Cutting Edge.

Stranger Than Fiction by @daxwashere -- Rated E. Seriously? Probably my favorite modern AU ever. Ben Solo is an author who needs to give his main character a love interest; enter Rey, his muse. It deals with some pretty real shit while also being incredibly full of heart (and some hot smut!).

Left Handed Kisses by @ever-so-reylo -- Rated E. The fuck buddies to lovers AU I never knew I needed. Rey is an Assistant District Attorney and Ben is a criminal defense lawyer. It’s hot, it’s sweet, it’s got lots of emotional constipation - you won’t be disappointed.

In the Name of Magic series by @waterlilyrose -- Part 1 E, Part 2 E, Part 3 T. The Hogwarts AU of my dreams! Kylo is a Snape-ish professor in Slytherin and Rey is a Gryffindor professor (of course). It’s great because it incorporates everything you love about Hogwarts, but focuses on the teachers instead of the students. Luke is Headmaster and Leia is Minister for Magic and there’s a very special painting of a snarky muggle that steals quite a few scenes. I absolutely adore this fic.

Dark Horse by @womp-rat-fever -- Rated T. This was a gift to me that I won in a tumblr giveaway. It is the Outlaw!Ben / Sheriff!Rey AU you never knew you always wanted! It’s a one-shot but it’s packed with action and pretty hot, too. I also made a playlist for it here.

The Promise by @nerdherderette -- Rated E. Wow. This is the most enthralled I think I’ve been with a one-shot. It’s 13k words, but reads like a 500 page historical fiction novel. If you like The Count of Monte Cristo, this is the fic for you.

Bedroom Hymns* by @drnucleus -- Rated E. Modern AU where Rey is a psychologist and Ben is an architect. Healthy BDSM where Rey is the Dom and Ben is the sub (although they haven’t quite gotten that far in the relationship yet). This is just really smart and eloquent. I’m a fan.

Fire Away* by @reylolujah -- Not rated. Disclaimer: I’ve only read the first chapter of this, but it’s SO GOOD. Laser tag AU with a really funny and great set up. Excited to see where it’s going! (I have it on good authority that we’re getting a half-naked Ben in a forthcoming chapter.)

A/B/O Dynamics:

Yes, I finally needed to add a section just for a/b/o. Sorry not sorry because I love it now. These are all E, for obvious reasons.

Your Pretty Little Heart by @ever-so-reylo -- modern AU where Ben and Rey are both doctors. And both terrible at admitting their feelings. It’s hot and super-well written. A good starter a/b/o fic!

Hunger* by @benperor-ren -- a canonverse a/b/o that picks up after Crait but with Rey in heat and Kylo coming to her aid, *wink wink nod nod*

Algorithms* by @grey-orchids -- the only first person POV fic I’ve ever enjoyed. This one is done so well it almost subverts the trope? Rey is a feminist and an IT person at a tech company run by Kylo. She goes into heat and things get interesting. *waggles eyebrows*

Summer Heat* by @isharan -- slow burn a/b/o you say? Yeah, and it hella works. Rey goes to spend the summer at her granfather’s cabin in Canada and is drawn to the outcast alpha Ben. It’s soooo good.

the thick of it* by @dvrkrey -- so steamy. It’s got hunter!Rey and lead alpha of the pack Kylo and Dothraki vibes for sure. Just check it out, you’ll like it. ;)

No One But You* by @faequeentitania -- a canonverse a/b/o started for Reylo week that started as mostly smut and now has plot! It’s really engaging and I’m excited for the last few chapters!

Hawthorne House by @strawberrycupcakehuckleberrypie -- I recently binged this and it is sweet/hot/amazing. Rey works at a B&B in Savannah, Ben Solo is a guest during a hurricane.

Oh and since people have also mentioned it, I will link to my works here at the bottom:

Dawn of the Rebellion series -- Rated T parts 1 & 2. This started as a one-shot I couldn’t get out of my head, then got a multi-chapter second part added on by popular demand. It’s my EP IX imaginings and it’s full of soft Reylo. There is a smutty epilogue in the works.

Truth Be Told* -- Rated M. The Alias AU I started for the RFFA exchange and am now taking too long to finish. If you like espionage and UST, I’ve got you covered!

smutty one-shots (all E): Chariot (modern AU) | Training Day (canon-verse) | Code 288 (Brooklyn 99 inspired) | Careless Whisper (80′s AU)

That’s about it for now, but I’ve got about 5 pages of “marked for later” fics I need to dig into, so keep an eye out for this list to be updated!

[travel-hopefully]

Random 20 questions book tag thing I completed on Wordpress! 

The link to the original tag is here https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/18219846-twenty-questions-booktag

1.How many books is too many books in a book series?

I wouldn’t want more than ten, because I’d like to retain interest in the series and not feel like ‘wow, i’ve got another 15 books to go before i find out what actually happens’. I quite like it when there are only 3 books in a series, ala ‘The Hunger Games Trilogy’ (Suzanne Collins), and I liked the 7 series ‘Harry Potter’ (J.K.Rowling) book series too. But on the other end of the spectrum there is the 12 book long series Cirque Du Freak saga (Darren Shan), and I just got a bit weary plodding through them all. 2. How do you feel about cliffhangers?

If it is right for the story to have a cliffhanger, then yes, I think I am happy with a cliffhanger, but some stories do actually need wrapping up to some degree and when the author doesn’t do that, then it can get quite frustrating. I just have to learn to move on in those situations. 3. Hardcopy or paperback?

I would say paperback as they are easier to transport, carry and read, but I must give credit to hardback for being a genuinely nice material which feels like the book is more precious. 4. Favourite book?

I could not possibly state a single favourite book. Books that come to mind include ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’ (J.K.Rowling), ‘A Game of Thrones’ (George R.R.Martin), ‘The Book Thief’ (Markus Zusak), ‘Room’ (Emma Donaghue) and ‘Think Twice’ (Lisa Scottoline). 5. Least favourite book?

Hmm… out of ones that I’ve read fully or attempted to read and gave up? If it includes the latter, I found it difficult to stand ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ (Jack Thorne, J.K.Rowling) because it just trashed good things about my favourite characters and the story lines that had been established already. I can’t think of an actual least favourite book that I’ve read, but I’m sure there have been some which i’ve thought were ‘meh’. 6. Love triangles, yes or no?

Bit of a typical repetitive story line which appears especially in YA fiction, so they’ve sort of started to annoy me a little now. 7. The most recent book you just couldn’t finish?

Erm… ‘The Cursed Child’ again, for reasons already stated. I will finish a good book. 8. A book you’re currently reading?

‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’ (J.K.Rowling). Even though I am a big HP fan, this is only the 2nd time of reading this particular instalment of the series. 9. Last book you recommended to someone?

I recommended ‘Room’ to my sister earlier on today. It’s a unique, heart-wrenching, emotional and thought-provoking book which is a must read. Did make me tear up a couple of times too. 10. Oldest book you’ve read? (Publication date)

‘The Sign of the Four’ (Arthur Conan Doyle), which was published in 1890 (thanks Rachel). I normally don’t enjoy books this old but I found myself gripped by the first Sherlock Holmes novel. 11. Newest book you’ve read? (Publication date)

‘Doctor Who: The Whoniverse’ (George Mann, Justin Richards), a really good and lovingly printed book covering the entire Doctor Who universe. I haven’t actually finished reading it yet, but it is the youngest book I own, with a publication date of 2016. I’d say an essential book for any Whovian! 12. Favorite author?

Probably J.K.Rowling, as she created my favourite book series (and single book) of all time, and let me delve into a magical world where anything could happen. She is an irreplaceably talented author. 13. Buying books or borrowing books?

Depends on the book I want to read: whether I want to own it forever or just give it back once i’ve read it once. I don’t use a library anyway, and I often buy my books off the wonderful ‘World of Books’ site, for cheap second-hand books with that ‘old book’ smell and appearance. 14. A book you dislike that everyone else seems to love?

I don’t hate it, but ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ (Lewis Carroll) as I found the writing style difficult to enjoy and the pacing was too slow. 15. Bookmarks or dog-ears?

I assume dog ears means when you turn the corner of the page? If so, I’d say dog ears just for practicality cause I don’t usually have a bookmark to hand. I do have this really cute fluffy pig bookmark from WH Smith which is nice though, but it often falls out my book! 16. A book you can always reread?

At the risk of sounding really repetitive now, I have to say ‘The Prisoner of Azkaban’ as it is so gripping, exciting and magical. But also the first HP book ‘The Philosopher’s Stone’ has a very re-readable quality to it.

17. Can you read while hearing music?

If the music has lyrics, there is absolutely no way I can read too! I can listen to instrumental stuff, which is usually TV soundtracks (mainly Murray Gold’s Doctor Who tunes), as I don’t get my words muddled, but I’d rather my environment just be quiet. 18. One POV or multiple POV’s? (POV’s = Point of views)

Both can be interesting. I guess if I am really enthralled by the one character who has the POV, then it’s great as I get to learn a lot more about that character as opposed to the character being written in third person. Multiple POVs is marginally more interesting however, as I get to learn about lots more characters and become involved in all of their thoughts and feelings, and the book won’t have clear favouritism towards that one character. 19. Do you read a book in one sitting or over multiple days?

Well that rather depends on how enticed I am by the book and my daily timetable 🙂 I would tend to read it over multiple days as I can’t really sit still and read a book in one session. The only books I’ve read in one sitting were short ones: ‘Looking for Alaska’ (John Green) and ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them’ (J.K.Rowling). 20. Who do you tag? (You can invite them to the group to do the tag)

If you want to do this tag, feel free!

Well this book tag thing has certainly taught me one thing: I need to widen by book choices more…. I have read more things than Harry Potter, honestly! 🙂

[twobrokegirlswithbooks]

Questions Tag

Rules: always post the rules, answer the questions given to you, write 11 questions of your own, tag 11 people

Tagged by @the-girl-who-lived-to-read! Thanks!

Tagging: @thevajunglebook, @gracebook-page, @princessofbookaholics, @audreys-book-nook, @bookeworm94, @contentreading, @kafkalit, @bookish-blog, @library-of-magical-dreams, and you if you want to answer questions

1. Favorite book to re-read?

The Catcher in the Rye since that’s my most re-read book ever -Nerdy Panda

Almost all the books I have! -miss kitty

2. A book to movie adaption that you actually liked?

Paper Towns -Nerdy Panda

Holes or Tuck Everlasting -miss kitty

3. Least favorite genre to read?

Adult. I’ve read some and some are on my TBR, but it’s not a genre I always look forward to  -Nerdy Panda

Not sure if I have one -miss kitty

4. A new release you’re excited for?

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green -Nerdy Panda

Immortally Yours by Lynsay Sands

5. Oldest book you own?

Any book from the Classic Adventures collection -Nerdy Panda

Black Beauty -miss kitty

6. A book you were surprised by?

The Raven Boys. It was definitely more than what I was expecting it to be -Nerdy Panda

Mouskins new home. It was so cute!!!!!!!! -miss kitty

7. A book you were expecting to love, but didn’t?

The Night Circus. I just hear non-stop praise about the book and when I finally read it, I didn’t really care about it -Nerdy Panda

Bella and the Beast by Oliva Drake. I wanted this so badly but it fell quite flat -miss kitty

8. A book you were wary about, but loved in the end?

Cinder. For some reason a sci-fi retelling of Cinderella didn’t really appeal to me. But I’m so glad I gave it a chance because I love the series! -Nerdy Panda

Harry Potter. I was being weird and refused to read it, but I saw the movie and reluctantly gave it a try. And the rest is history! -miss kitty

9. If a character decided to take over and rule the world, who would you want it to be?

Hermione Granger -Nerdy Panda

The Cynsters need to rule the world. They’re a large amazing family

10. Bookish items you love?

My various bookmarks, pins, mug, and Catcher in the Rye themed shirts -Nerdy Panda

My books and tea mug I got from my besty nerdy panda -miss kitty

11. A place you would love to visit?

Italy. I went there once but I WAS TOO YOUNG TO REMEMBER ANYTHING!!!!!! For a bookish place I would go to Middle Earth and have second breakfast with Hobbits -Nerdy Panda

Bookish place I’d have to say the romanized version of 1700-1800s England with the balls and dresses. Lol I know in reality it’s awful

Questions:

1. Which decade interests you the most?

2. Do you have a favorite mythological person or creature?

3. Favorite reading place?

4. What character would you vote for to be president?

5. Would you rather compete in The Hunger Games or The TriWizard Tournament?

6. Hardbacks or paperbacks?

7. What fictional creature would you want to be your animal companion?

8. You walk through a wardrobe, and you find yourself in a completely other world on the other side. Which world would you want to be in?

9. What movie is actually better than the book?

10. Day or night?

11. Favorite genre of music?

[incandescent-creativity]

Tagged in a Reader’s Questionnaire

God, that’s a weird word to spell I was tagged by @ivy-the-africanprincess, and I’ll ask @eccentricwriterfreak, @authorrjcity, and @write-out-of-time for this. If you see it and want to do it, too, then by all means!

1. Which book has been on your shelves the longest?  I can honestly say I don’t know. It’s probably a Harry Potter book, or maybe a Guinness World Record book because I have a ton of those. But all my childhood books (e.g. Magic Tree House, Junie B. Jones) aren’t around anymore.

2. What is your current read, your last read, and the book you’ll read next? I’m not really reading anything right now, and I can’t remember the last book I read because my memory is awful (it might have been Everything, Everything), but I am bringing Neal Shusterman’s book Scythe on the plane I’m going on soon. It’s a very intriguing book: set in the far future where mankind has developed medical technology so well that people no longer die, an organization called the Scythes are in charge of selecting people out of the population to kill them. Society as a whole has agreed upon the necessity of these Scythes, and the Scythes themselves are trained in numerous ways to kill people.

3. Which book does everyone like and you hated? While I did read the first Maze Runner book, I don’t think I ever got past the second. Same kind of thing happened for the Divergent series--read the first one, enjoyed it, and then couldn’t get past the next one. I don’t actively hate them, but I just couldn’t bring myself to keep reading it.

4. Which book do you keep telling yourself you’ll read, but probably won’t? Literally any of my library books at any given time. 

5. Which book are you saving for “retirement”? I’m not sure why this is in quotations, but I can confidently say I have no idea. Maybe I’ll read the Lord of the Rings series when I have nothing but time to myself, but I haven’t really planned for anything like that.

6. Last page: read it first or wait till the end? Wait until the end, of course. 

7. Acknowledgements: waste of ink and paper or interesting aside? Oh my gosh, do people out there actually think acknowledgements are a waste of ink and paper? I personally like to read them, they can be interesting and funny. Lord knows I’ve written a few acknowledgements of my own, because people should be credited for the help they give you gosh darn it!

8. Which book character would you switch places with? Hermione Granger springs immediately to mind, but I think I’m very similar to Annabeth Chase as well, so she’s also a contender. I would mention Daenerys Stormborn as well, purely for the dragons, but I don’t think I’d be very good at ruling or waging war, so...

9. Do you have a book that reminds you of something specific in your life (a person, a place, a time)? I was first allowed to read Harry Potter on my twelfth? birthday, so I have a clear memory of unwrapping a copy of Sorcerer’s Stone. Because Rick Riordan’s books come out in the fall and my birthday is mid-October, my S.O. would buy me his newest book for my birthday for a few years, so I think of him and that time of year. I read all of the Game of Thrones books over four or five months of my senior year of high school, so there’s that.

10. Name a book you acquired in some interesting way. This is making me realize how boring my book-acquiring skills are: I buy them or they’re gifted to me. There is this one local-ish bookstore called the Nearly Perfect Bookstore, and the place is literally stuffed with books. It’s a labyrinth of shelves and there’s only barely enough room for two people to pass by because there are stacks of books on the floor. Everywhere. It’s amazing. And the books are so cheap like less-than-five-bucks cheap

11. Have you ever given a way a book for a special reason to a special person? I’m always lending my books to people who want to read them, and sometimes they end up keeping them XD I did “give away” a book called Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom (excellent author) to a girl named Yuliya, because I knew she’d enjoy the religious themes to the book.

12. Which book has been with you to the most places? Stephen King’s book Cell is one of my fall backs for a book to take on vacation or on road trips, so it’s probably that one. It’s a really good SK novel to start on if you haven’t read anything of his, and it was my first. It’s good and familiar :)

13. Any “required reading” you hated in high school that wasn’t bad ten years later? I didn’t really enjoy Life of Pi very much, because there was a lot less Surviving the Ocean with a Tiger than I thought there was going to be, and a lot more Religious Backstory to Develop Character. I also intensely disliked How to Read Literature like a Professor because WOW it was dull and didn’t make a lot of sense. I haven’t read either since, but I probably wouldn’t mind Life of Pi as much anymore.

14. What is the strangest item you’ve ever found in a book? I did find a Ghiradelli wrapper in one recently. It was blue and very flat--one of the best bookmarks I’ve ever seen XD

15. Used or brand new? Either, man--whatever I can get my hands on. The Nearly Perfect Bookstore that I mentioned earlier is used, but if there’s something coming out that I’m excited for I’ll buy it new and shiny.

16. Stephen King: literary genius or opiate of the masses? I love SK’s novels, I have an entire shelf of his work. Literary genius.

17. Have you ever seen a movie you liked better than the book? Maybe the Lord of the Rings movies, because while I tried to read them, I always fail midway through book two. I’m glad those movies exist so I can still enjoy the story. There are movies that I think have done justice to their books, too--Harry Potter, The Shack, the Maze Runner, Hunger Games... While they obviously can’t include every detail from the books and the book will always be richer and more in depth, their movie versions are pretty good imo.

18. Conversely, which book should NEVER have been introduced to the screens? I don’t really have strong opinions on movies, so...I’m sure there’s bad movie adaptations out there, but nothing is coming to mind rn!

19. Have you ever read a book that’s made you hungry, cookbooks being excluded? I don’t think so...? What a strange question. The only thing I can think of that would do it is those beginning-of-the-year feast scenes from Harry Potter.

20. Who is the person whose book advice you’ll always take? I sadly don’t really have any friends that give me book recommendations often, but if any friend expresses to me how much they really enjoyed a book, there’s a good chance I’ll read it!

[roarformeprettylion]

In Honor of National Book Lover’s Day

I’m going to answer a list of book-related questions.

Book you’re most embarrassed to have never read? 

Any book I was supposed to read in college but didn’t. Also, I’ve never read Lord of the Rings.

What is the most embarrassing book you have ever read?

I don’t like the idea that any book is embarrassing because reading is great no matter what, but sometimes I feel embarrassed when talking about my preference for YA novels with others. I enjoy them and learn from them. I shouldn’t be embarrassed.

Would you rather read digital or paper books? 

Definitely paper books. I tried e-readers but I don’t like them. 

What character in a book would you like to sucker punch in the face?

I wouldn’t want to sucker punch Bella Swan but I would like to sit down with her for an intervention on how to live her life for herself and not for a man.

What character in a book would you like to be best friends with?

How sweet would it be to be friends with Mia from The Princess Diaries? A princess as a bestie? Yes please. 

Also, Ron Weasley from the Harry Potter series. I always thought he was a very loyal and caring friend.

How many physical books do you own? 

It is impossible to say. I have 3 shelves filled with books, four plastic tubs filled with books, and boxes of books in a storage unit. Some of them were my parents’ books but now they’re mine muahaha.

What book describes you best? 

I wanted to make a joke and say something like I Hunt Killers (mc’s dad is a serial killer. the book is about figuring out if mc is like his dad) but I guess I would say Mrs. Dalloway. Not for plot or a certain character, but the themes it looks at: grief, reflection, and the human consciousness That’s not me all the time, but a lot of my life has really been about introspection and trying to live in the moment instead of in the past or future.

if you could forget one book to experience it all over again, which one would it be?

The Westing Game. I LOVED reading that book in school.

One book that changed your life.

Perks of Being a Wallflower is a popular answer but this book just came to me at the right time in my life and helped me understand certain things I was feeling. Probably also Beauty Queens by Libba Bray. It helped me become the raging feminist I am today.

One book/series you would love to be adapted into a movie or tv show.

A GREAT AND TERRIBLE BEAUTY SERIES BY LIBBA BRAY. It was on IMDB for a bit and then the movie got cancelled. I want this so desperately that I’ve started writing my own script. I think this series would make a fabulous Netflix series. The scenes and the wardrobe would be beautiful and eerie. I’m looking off in the distance fantasizing about this now.

A character’s death that came as a massive shock.

Finnick Odair from The Hunger Games series. It was so unexpected and in the middle of a lot of action so it felt a bit overshadowed.

Bookmark or dog-ear?

Always bookmark hardcovers. I used to dog-ear paperbacks but now i like to bookmark them as well.

Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random?

Usually, I’d say alphabetize by author but I recently changed the organization of my shelves to be by color. 

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?

Chapter breaks. How can you go to sleep if you don’t end a scene? I’d just lie awake wondering what would happen next.

What are you reading right now?

The Invasion of the Tearling. It’s the second book in a trilogy about a young woman who becomes a queen and has magical powers and there’s war and intrigue and stuff. It’s really good and I did a really bad job of explaining it.