#RTC chapter 10

[timeofjuly]

Chapter 10 of Resisting the Current is up!

Black’s face falls like a broken elevator when Quinn leads you back into the kitchen.

“What now? Do you have more delusional accusations to levy at me? Your boots are disgustingly scuffed; is it my fault that you’re too inept to polish them?” he says. He’s acquired an apron in the time that it took to handle the tire situation – a gift from her that’s embroidered with the words ‘IT’S NOT BURNT, IT’S FLAVOUR’ - and the kitchen is full of the rich aroma of onions and garlic meeting heated olive oil.

“Nope, that’s all me,” you reply, looking down at said boots. “Too much time crawling around underneath houses, they get beat to shit. If you ever piss me off again, actually, I’m a size -.”

“One more for dinner tonight!” Quinn interjects.

[cr0wqui11]

Ominous ahh UU planning notes

[darkromanceauthor]

Stranger In the Woods

*do not repost*

Chapter 1 – Frankie

I honestly hate my job. I let out a sigh as I sign out of my computer after my fourth 10 hour shift this week. I thought being an estate agent for Hamilton’s meant I could just show people around luxury homes in the countryside, tell them how amazing this opportunity is and then go home. Never in a million years did I think it would entail me having to suck my bosses tiny dick because his wife refuses to and I’m an easy target.

Adrian Hamilton is a nasty, dirty piece of work and now I must spend the next 45 minutes with him in his dingy little office until he ultimately blows his load all over my face.

As I go to leave the building I hear his footsteps, boom boom boom. I instantly feel sick, why me? ‘‘Frankie, I hope you haven’t forgotten what you get paid extra for, my darling’’ everything about this man gives me anxiety. He is about 90 (he is not, he’s probably only about 50) I suppose it’s better me rather than Stephanie, she’s only 19 and wouldn’t be able to handle it. At least I can try and forget it happened when I’m back home.

I follow him down the long poorly lit corridor holding back the bile I can already feel rising up my oesophagus. It seems to take an eternity, to get to the office (if that is what you can call it). ‘Get on your knees for me Frankie, you know the drill’ as if I am a robot. I drop to my knees and open my mouth waiting for him to place his small shaft inside and I just suck, no hands, no sounds, I just suck until he finishes and as usual, he blows all over me.

Once he puts his dick away and leaves, I go to the staff bathroom and wash my face with antibacterial soap. I scrub and I scrub to get rid of every trace of him. Once I feel like I can’t possibly scrub anymore I get ready for the drive home, I walk towards the doors and set the 3 security alarms.

I think it is about time I talk to Erica about what’s going on at work. She will be furious that I’ve not told her before now but let’s be real, I need this job. This has been happening since the second week of my being here, 3 years ago, so its safe to say I’m pretty used to it now.  

I’ll call her when I’m home I go out to the carpark and my car is the only one left, a dark blue 2002 Ford Fiesta parked right in the back corner, it’s raining, but it’s just that fine rain that get you soaked through.  I get in and prepare for the 30-minute drive home just as an alert pops up on my phone, The road I normally take is closed due to an RTC so now I have to take a detour. Eugh It’s fine it will just add about 20 minutes onto my journey,

I never liked driving this way through the woods, it freaks me out. There’re no lights, no houses, nothing for miles. Just darkness and shadows from the moon.

BANG

‘What. The. Fuck was that?’ I say aloud. Great, I think my tyre has popped. Of COURSE its popped in the thick of the deep dark woods. I grab my phone and try to call Erica to tell her what happened before I get out to put my spare wheel on, so she knows where I am if anyone tries to murder me.

Ring ring, ring ring, ring ring.

No answer, brilliant. Why does she never answer when I actively need her?

20 minutes later I’m dripping with sweat and covered in oil but thankfully my spare wheel is on. I am just putting my jack away and wiping the oil from my hands when I hear something, crunching maybe. I cannot decide if it’s an animal or if I’m going to die. I don’t hang around to find out I just quicken my pace to a run so I can get in my car and drive home without looking back  

I circle around to the driver’s side of the car, look in the reflection of my window and that’s when I see him. I am only assuming it’s a ‘him’ because I’m sure I’ve never met a woman who creeps around the woods at 9pm on a Wednesday evening, because that’s, well…. creepy.

I stare at the figure in my window for what feels like an eternity but all I can make out is that whoever this is stands at about six foot seven, which means they could overpower me easily as I am only five foot six. Well fuck, I need to get out of here now!

I get in the car and turn it over, put it into gear and I’m away. I drive like my life depends on it because I think it does... I slam my foot down on the accelerator so fast I’m wheel spinning and ever so slightly losing control. Calm down. I take a breath and slow down just enough so that I can gain control of the car. Once I feel more at ease, I start speeding up again so can get out of the woods before being followed or killed.

I pull into the driveway of my 1-bedroom cottage, get out the car and rush inside fumbling around with the keys trying to get them in the lock before anyone sees me. Before ‘he’ sees me. I’m not a detective but I’m about 96% sure he followed me home. I don’t know how because there were no cars near where I saw him, and nobody can run that fast. I just have the feeling he’s watching me.

I get inside lock the door, close all the curtains and check the lock again, I flick the kettle on get myself a mug and go and run myself a hot bubble bath, I need it after the day I’ve had. Walking back into the kitchen I flick the kettle back off ‘fuck this I’m having a cocktail’ I try to video call Erica while making myself a sex on the beach, she is my best friend in the world but she’s about as reliable as a car with no engine. I’m sure she will ring me back, probably when I’m in the bath.

I adore a bubble bath; however, something doesn’t feel right. I feel like I’m being watched, which is impossible because all my curtains are drawn, and the lights are all off apart from the small lamp in the bedroom and the light from my candles around the tub so I’m absolutely sure nobody can see me or get in the house however that doesn’t help the uneasy feelings I’m having.

I finish my cocktail and lay back in the bath letting the water cocoon me, I take a few deep breaths and submerge my face…

1……2…….3……..4……..5………6…….7……8……..9………10.

I come up for air feeling a lot calmer now than I did before. Its just my imagination playing tricks on me, I think. I climb out and find my towels, one for my body and one for my hair.

I lay on my bed the towel falling away from my curves, I lean over to my bedside drawer and pull out my vibrator, I turn it on and remove my towel completely. I still have some water dripping off my body onto my bed, with my free hand I start to play with my nipples slowly pinching them every few seconds for a little bit of pain with the pleasure, my other hand goes down towards my pussy, the vibrator slides over my clit and instantly my hairs stand on end and I get goosebumps, I’ve not done this for a while, I’m not usually in the mood after work but the stranger in the woods has ignited something inside of me. Am I weird? I don’t care, stop thinking about that and get back to what you were doing. I move my fingers away from my nipples and down my body towards my opening, God this stranger has made me so wet. I slide my fingers inside, curling them towards my G-spot while circling my clit with the vibrator, its only been about 15 minutes but I can already feel my orgasm building  in the pit of my stomach, I turn up the vibration setting and start to move my fingers in and out, faster and harder until I can feel my vision darken as the orgasm starts to take over my entire body, it feels like the world stops on its axis as I can no longer see anything but stars. ‘Oh Fuck’ I choked as I hit the peak… sweating, covered in my own cum I drag myself off the bed and get back into the shower, clean myself off, climb into bed before ultimately passing out.

[therandomtoad]

Notes game because why tf not:

5- I'll dye

10- I'll post about my ocs

15- I'll start working on a sonnet

20- I'll explain my RTC fic(and characters) that I've been bouncing around in my head for forever

25- I'll complete all my homework

30- I'll finish my crochet project

35- I'll rewrite act one of Romeo and Juliet to be lesbian

40- I'll read all of The Shining in one sitting

45- I'll write a chapter of the Attorney in a Hurry fic I talked about awhile ago

50- I'll finish painting Mimet from Space Baby

75- I'll finally finish the Ethan Green fic I was working on a million years ago

100- I'll ask my crush to hang out

Most of these things are on my to do list btw sor it doesn't hurt to make a game out of it

[sagarrachnagrp]

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[weltato]

Oh boy, oh boy! I've been tagged! Ma! Get the camera! (why am I always green lol? everywhere I go this colour follows me. not complaining tho XD)

Tysm Lilac! I doubt I'll be anywhere near as in-depth as you, but here we go!

><><;><>< -Answers under the cut- ><><><><

How many works do you have on AO3?

I have, as of this post, a total of 33 on AO3. There are an extra 4-5 in the wip folder though, just waiting for me to finish them.

2. What's your total word count?

AO3 stats tell me it's 85,132 - the fic with the highest wordcount was the first one I ever wrote and took about 2 years to complete. (It's not the best, I kinda want to rewrite it tbh, but that's effort-)

3. What fandoms?

In order of which fandoms I wrote for first-last: - Sanders Sides [1] - Undertale [1] - DC's Legends of Tomorrow [1] - Ace Attorney [2] - Dear Evan Hansen [1] - Star Trek: Alternate Original Series films [1] - Star Trek: Discovery [3] - Dani's Castle [1] (This one is still a wip bc I've been procrastinating on finishing the last chapter before I upload everything.) - Detroit: Become Human [1] - Sherlock [1] - Ride The Cyclone [5!] - CBS Ghosts [1] - Wednesday (Netflix) [4] - Overwatch [2] - Good Omens [4] - Hatchetverse/Hatchetfield Universe [4]

I've been in the Hatchetfield fansphere since TGWDLM came out, but I only started writing for it recently when I read @lilacthebooklover's fic "Dehumanization" which I CANNOT plug enough. Go read it right now if you enjoy Paul whump and are a fellow Paulkins enjoyer <3

4. Top 5 fics by kudos

1. Patching Things Up currently sits at a whopping 358 kudos! This also has the highest hit count of 4,736! Insanity. 2. I'll Warm Your Hands To Warm Your Heart stands at 163 kudos, which is average to my usual rate. PTU was a wonderful anomaly. 3. Patchy Memory is just under at 159 kudos. These top three are all for the same fandom - Wednesday (Netflix). Such a good show. 4. The (Blue) Blood In My Eyes sits just under PM with 145 kudos. This was for DBH. 5. Mischa's Journey of Coming Out has just cracked three digits! It's a 107 kudos currently, and is an RTC fic.

5. Do you respond to comments?

All the time! Sometimes it's just a "<3" because I don't have anything to say, but I want to let the commenter know that their comment is appreciated ^-^

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Ghosted Coffee (Poisoned Food), my gifted fic to @lilacthebooklover, definitely has the angstiest ending, mostly because I left it like that so that I could continue to write from it. I usually write happy endings, or soft endings because I want the soft to heal from the angst at some point :')

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

My most recent one is probably the happiest since it's just pure fluff. It's called Birthday Girl, Won't You Dine With Me? and it's Ted/Charlotte fluff. I've lovingly called them Sweetkoffski bc Charted is a weak ship name, let's be real.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Thankfully, I've never received hate on any of my fics, and I'm so grateful for that. I'll take concrit if people are willing to give it, but being an arse online is just stupid. Don't do it. You don't know what's going on in people's lives behind the screen. That could be the final straw for some. Think before you type. I love you all <3

9. Do you write smut?

Nope, and I probably won't ever. The furthest I'd go is fade to black, or off-screen mentions. Just not exactly comfortable writing that and putting it out into the fic world, no thanks. I do currently have an idea that dips lightly into sexual themes at the very beginning, but it shifts to fluff pretty quick.

10. *the wind whistles, for there is no 10th question to be found*

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Thankfully not!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Alas, I have not. It'd be really cool if I did though, or if someone wanted to do a podfic of something I'd written. I'd love to get involved <3

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

I haven't. (lowkey running out of ways to say no :|)

14. What's your all time favourite ship?

Well good golly Miss Molly this is a loaded question - I have MANY. I generally class by fandom and try to have one fave ship per fandom, but for some (like Hatchetverse) it's really hard. Here are some of them:

From Hatchetverse: currently Paulkins bc they're so cute and sweet and they care so much and they ALWAYS FIND EACH OTHER IN EVERY TIMELINE AND- From Ace Attorney: Narumitsu, obviously lol. I do love other ships (Maggey x Gumshoe is adorable, FranMaya is one I didn't think I'd like and then -boom!- I was invested, etc.) Star Trek: This is one of the 'I have many ships' fandoms, since there are so many shows now, but probably because he's my favourite character and his character development is mm- magnifique... Culmets (also sometimes known as Space Husbands) from ST:Disco. I love them so much. Good Omens: Another probably obvious one - Ineffable Husbands. They're so.....y'know? I can't use words atm bc I'm still disappointed in Azi (not Neil, not Michael, in the character's decision. Neil did a fantastic job and I love him- I hate him- I love him for the S2 ending .^.)

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

The original story idea I had. As in, novel idea. Like a book. It still exists in physical form in a notebook in my house, but I don't think I'll be thinking about it anytime in the near future, let alone working on it. Writing a full novel is a big undertaking and I'm not in a place to do that yet. Maybe one day, if I win the lottery and everything suddenly slots into place because I have an epiphany, but not right now. It's still a really good idea though.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I...am actually not sure? ^^;; Probably characterization, since a lot of people comment about how I've written the characters well, but I always worry that they'd feel ooc. I also seem to write a lot of angst sooo.....that's something, huh.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Writing groups. I can do a groupchat text thing (see 'Alone In The Crowd'), but I do struggle with writing more than 3 characters at once. I can't flip between them in my brain fast enough to write them well and then I worry that they'll all sound the same and- yeah. Give me 3 or less and I can write forever. Give me 6 and I'll struggle.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language?

If it's German, I can probably do it, so hurrah for me that Ace Attorney has (in the localised versions of the games) canon German characters that would probably realistically speak German sometimes. I haven't done German in about 5 or so years, so I'm rusty, but I can just about remember how the grammar works. Don't ask me anything conversational though - school only teaches you the language to pass an exam, not how to speak it :/

19. First fandom you wrote for?

I've already answered this ^^;; but it was Sanders Sides - if you don't know what that is: Thomas Sanders (the 'storytime' vine man) created a YouTube webseries about the different facets of his personality, including a character version of himself. He plays all the different roles (since they're all in his head so it makes sense that they'd look like him) and there's actual lore going down. I haven't seen the most recent episodes bc life and I watch many other people on YT as well, and tbh I've drifted from the fandom a bit, but it's still enjoyable.

20. Top 3 fics I've ever written?

My very top one was linked earlier and is for the Wednesday (Netflix) fandom - Patching Things Up. It's received so much love and I'm still blown away every time I see how many people have even clicked on the fic. Nearly 5k! Madness.

The next would probably have to be My Home, My Saviour, My Firefighter (the beginning of something beautiful <3) because I just enjoyed writing it so so much, despite it being incredibly angsty. It's the longest oneshot I had written at the time by about 2.5k(ish) words and even surpasses the 6 chapter fic Mischa's Journey (linked earlier) by roughly 1k. Won't be able to pass that very first fic though, don't think anything will unless I rewrite it.

Thank you to Lilac again for the tag! I enjoyed doing this <3

I don't have many people to tag tbh bc I'm not sure who writes and who doesn't that I follow, but I'll tag @marvelmaniac715 and @jewishruthfleming because I've read some of your writings and they're great reads, so so good <33

Open to anyone else that sees this who wants to join in!

20 Questions for Fic Writers

@snarky-wallflower Thanks for the tag! This was a lot of fun :)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

67 currently, but I have deleted a few old ones lol

2. What’s your total word count?

Now, when I tell you I went overboard on this question, I went overboard. My private, unposted, solely-written-by-me fics' total word count is 227,868. My total word count for fics I've collaborated with @charismabee on is 477,549, and my total word count on AO3 is 389,530. However, quite a few of my AO3 fics are collabs with Red, so if you take away everything like Wilting Flowers and Owl House but Kindergarten, you're left with 225,235 words written solely by me. So, if you total up 225,235 + 227,868 + 477,549, then you get a grand total of 930,652 words! Then, of course, there's the whole matter of my old fics on regular Word and not Docs, which would probably add up to at least another 50,000 total considering we're talking about my ASOUE and DT17 phases, as well as all of the private Viva Pinata and miscellaneous musical stuff lurking in there, and we've got that weird writing app on my tablet that I used a lot a couple of years ago whenever my phone got confiscated, but I cannot be bothered to search through all of that right now. So, it mostly rounds up to around 1,000,000 words. Fanfiction may or may not be taking over my life. (Gosh I love maths <3)

3. What fandoms?

I've written mostly for the Kindergarten 1 and 2 fandom, my total fics on AO3 for it totaling 38. However, I have written a heck of a lot of OMORI as well, and dabble in the Owl House, DHMIS, a few webseries on YT as well as the Hatchetverse sometimes, too!

4. Top 5 fics by kudos

1. World's Okayest Uncle at 799. My latest WIP, written for the Hatchetfield Universe and based around the concept of Paul Matthews becoming the accidental uncle of every kid in town. Each chapter focuses on a different child (the three so far about Alice, Richie and Pete respectively), and once all of them have been sufficiently adopted, I've been considering adding some slice-of-life stuff, exploring the changed character dynamics, and looking into parts of canon that would change in the AU as well. 2. Hollow at 455, a Hunter-centric one-shot for the Owl House set immediately after season 2 finished. It was written in the post King's Tide craze of awesome Human Realm content, so it got quite a lot of hits at the time. It focuses on Hunter dealing with the aftermath of Belos seemingly having died, and himself having being thrown into a completely new, unfamiliar world as an unfamiliar God took over his own :) 3. Flapjacks at 279, another Hunter-centric piece because TOH fans can't get enough of him lol (I am very much one of those fans). I began writing it back when Thanks to Them was first released, then got the motivation to finish it after I saw Watching and Dreaming. It focuses on Hunter returning to the Human Realm after the Collector's defeat, as well as Camila's thoughts on being a parent of who knows' how many kids at this point. Hunter finally gets the chance to mourn, and finds out what a flapjack actually is. 4. Gravesfield Historical Society, at 275. In which it's only natural that the Boiling Isles' leading Human Expert decides to do some research, and Gus does his very best to ignore the images plaguing him from looking into Belos' mind. Vee looks for some closure, Hunter is very protective over his little siblings, and Gus just wants to have a fun day at the museum. Things... Don't go to plan. 5. Fading, at 215. Yet another TOH work (I was around when the fandom was active as heck), one of the shortest pieces I've ever written at only 722 words. It's from Flapjack's POV during that scene in Thanks for Them. You know the one. I made lots of people cry, and sacrificed the birb.

5. Do you respond to comments?

Of course!! I thoroughly appreciate every comment I receive; they really make my day. Being part of an active fandom with the Uncle Paul AU has sort of taken me by storm so my inbox is pretty clogged at the moment, but I promise that I have read and smiled over and will reply to the comments all of my lovely readers have left behind! It means so much that someone's not only taken the time to read what I've written, but that they liked it enough to leave a comment behind. Even just keysmashes or "<33"s are really lovely to see, so thank you to the wonderful commentors out there! You guys are awesome :D

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Ooh, now this is a tough one! Pretty much 95% of what I write is angst, with a good 70% being Hurt No Comfort. Still, I think the angstiest ending I've ever written would have to be that of either "Enough", in which 13 y/o me decided it was a good idea to follow the perspective of kindergartener Theodore Huxley as his brother pushed him to his death, or "Wilted", in which 13 y/o me decided it was a good idea to follow the perspective of suicidal kindergartener Lily as she gave up on finding the one person who cared about her and committed suicide as a result of being bullied. Wilted should probably win out considering the implications of what would happen to Billy as a result, and bc the ending subsequently led to Nugget's death too, but Ted's train of thought in Enough is so gosh darn sad.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Definitely "McDonald's". That's the fluffiest thing I've ever written, no doubt about it. Not a smidgen of angst, just a bunch of kids with colourful eyes and pointy ears walking into a fast food restaurant and discovering what chicken nuggets are. It literally ends with the promise of more cute adventures to come, so I'd say this one's a no-brainer loll

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I've only ever received hate once, on a little Gravity Falls AU I made entitled "Puppet Strings and Stage Curtains". I got some pretty nasty criticism on it and, as a kid who was still very anxious about posting stuff online, it really impacted me at the time. I'm still a little nervous even now to open up my inbox because I think I might have gotten another comment like that shfjdhhgkjh. I wound up abandoning the fic because my motivation was completely destroyed, and I couldn't even look at the thing without feeling ashamed. However, I haven't received any hate since, which is great! There's just no reason for it, really; if you like something, leaving a comment is wonderful, and it makes the author happy! If you don't, just don't read the fic. Leaving a hurtful comment isn't going to make anyone happy, and can be really damaging to writers. Shoutout to @weedkillercentral, who, without fail, leaves the bizzarest comments known to man on almost every work I post.

9. Do you write smut?

Nope! I am a ✨minor✨ (@snarky-wallflower dw I too am a nerdy prude, sex jokes are Ew). Still, I do enjoy writing romance from time to time! Some ships are straight-up hard not to enjoy reading/writing for :))

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Funny story, actually. I used to have Wattpad and, as much as I hated using it, a friend of mine liked the site so I used it to support her. I wound up posting some of my own stuff on there at one point. I will never be able to get over the fact that when you searched up my username online, the images used to show a picture of Sharkbomb Glomgold. How do I know this? Because small me got bored and looked up my username, and accidentally found a mirror site to Wattpad with some of my stuff on. It credited my username and everything, but I panicked about it because as far as I was aware, I had no control over whether I could take it down or what else could be put on it. So, I deleted everything on my account, and just like that, the fics on the mirror site vanished. So no, I've never had anything outright stolen-- at least, I hope I haven't-- but that was a Not Fun experience for little me a few years ago

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, I'm not famous enough for that lol. I did have an offer for someone to make a podfic of smth I wrote a few years ago, but they never got around to it. Still, if anyone ever wants to translate one of my fics, I'd love it if you did! Please just let me know and acknowledge me as the OG author; having a work translated sounds awesome.

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

Yes! Many thanks yet again to the amazing @charismabee, my dear co-author and the Kel shirt to my Maverick cosplay wig. The amount of hours I've spent writing with her is actually insane, as well as the times we've just messaged brainstorming AUs or having far too strong feelings about the show Elena of Avalor. We've done joint Whumptobers and Febuwhumps, fics that are combinations of the nichest stories and characters, a lot of redemption arcs for 5-year-olds... If you like my stuff, I thoroughly encourage you to go give her work a read at TheFearIsRed on AO3! :D

If anyone else ever wants to try collaborating on something, I think I'd be willing to give it a try! There are loads of talented authors on here, and co-writing is a lot of fun <3

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Hmm... Well, Paulkins is an obvious one (remember that one post about "hatchetfield fans when normal man and his barista crush show up for 5 seconds"? yeah that's me). They have a level of mutual trust and understanding that's just really nice to explore, they both have issues galore but will support each other no matter what, half infected Paul content is golden and as an avid Uncle Paul truther, Emma finding out about his many children is just too funny a concept to me. They act like teenagers when they see each other, they're both down bad, she knows he doesn't like the Christmas advert jingles, he thinks she's funny,,, they're so <3

Another strong contender is Pearla (Penny x Carla), from the K2 fandom. @goldmoth82 was the one who got me into writing about them with their absolutely incredible stuff (art, fics, you name it!). They're just a traumatised android and a thieving arsonist, what more could you want?

Gold rush (Kel x Mikhael) is another of my favourites though, mostly because it's so funny. Mikhael has declared them rivals, and Kel could not care less. Mikhael challenges him to races, and Kel beats him easily. Mikhael insults him often, but Kel doesn't retaliate. Mikhael wants to be independent and special, to stand out from everyone else. Kel wants to be appreciated as more than just Hero's brother, to be liked and acknowledged as himself. Mikhael would vehemently deny his feelings until Daphne and Bowen tied them up together and forced him to confess. Rivals are just lovers in disguise, everyone. One-sided gold rush is even funnier, because they're technically one-sided rivals. Kel was Mikhael's homosexual awakening. Mikhael looks so dumb and flamboyant because he's trying to impress him. Mikhael claims he hates him and that his bright red face is from anger after Kel effortlessly beats him time and time again. I love them.

But I think out of everything, Wrightworth would have to take my top pic for favourite ship. Gay lawyers who would die for each other for the win.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

Ohh gosh. There are quite a few, but I'd probably say this year's Whumptober. My mental health went schwoop this October and I only got up to day 11 despite my plans. I still intend to finish the collab one with Red when I have time again (exams suck), and I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to get around to completing it. At least there's always next year! :"]

16. What are your writing strengths?

Definitely characterisation. I have a lot of fun getting into characters' heads and making studies on them in different scenes or just overall, and have a lot of fun bouncing different personalities off of each other. Once I know a character, I know the character, and writing their POV is as simple as breathing lol. I'd also say that I'm pretty good at tension building and breaking, as well as Hurt No Comfort (you need some good old angst, I'm your gal).

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Action scenes, for one, though I've been improving on them since I started the TOH Kindergarten AU! I'd also say that I struggle with slower-paced, filler sort of stuff. I might like to build up to an event, but chapters that don't have plot relevance just sort of stump me lol, even when they're necessary :)

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language?

I enjoy learning languages, and have been teaching myself Spanish for the past couple of years or so. However, writing them is a whole separate thing entirely. If I had a translator, I'd be all good! I just get a little worried when I write any language that isn't Spanish because google translate is unreliable as heck, so I typically tend to avoid it. Luckily, none of my fandoms really require it- but if that Franziska & Miles brainrot doesn't go away soon, I might be in a bit of a pickle trying to write German dialogue hshjhgfk

19. First fandom you wrote for?

A Series of Unfortunate Events (the Netflix show). It was the first fandom I got really, properly into, diving in headfirst at the age of about 12 and finding a lot of awesome content. The obsession I had with VFDBaudelaireFile13's Violet Snicket AU "Misery Loves Company" a few years ago was wild. My writing back then was very jolty, and I wrote in chapters that only lasted a few paragraphs with big, bold titles that often had at least two exclamation marks at the end. Still, ASOUE is one of my favourite shows to this day, and I don't regret a thing from my time binge-reading everything I could find for it (except that one lemons fic I accidentally came across when starved for content), nor any of the silly little unposted AUs I wrote on Word.

20. Top 3 fics I've ever written:

I puzzled over this question for ages, but found it impossible to choose just one! Ignore that I'm cheating a little here, and take three instead <3

1. An unposted collaborative work with @charismabee/TheFearIsRed that we called MPT. It was the first big fic I ever wrote, and it was probably what really got me into writing as a hobby. I got to spend time at random intervals writing about and whumping my favourite characters with someone I'm very close with, making up the plot as we went along. I remember coming up with the initial idea on a swingset, and spending hours colour-coding every segment of those 50,000 words based on each mention of a character as well as who wrote what. MPT is messy, and a tad repetitive in places, and while finished, I don't believe it's something I'll ever post. But it holds a special place in my heart, and it's a lot of fun looking back on my writing from a couple years ago compared to now 2. Not sure if this fully counts, but an untitled Omori WIP I've got going atm is definitely up there. It's Hero-centric with huge emphasis on his trauma, following the course of the year the events of the game occur in. I've had a blast writing his thoughts and time at college, and I'm geberally just really proud of it thus far. Hopefully, it'll be done by January in time for his birthday! :) 3. Now this one is a posted work– Magical Girls: Omori!, another collab with Red. We came up with the idea, binge-watched season one of Glitter Force on Netflix, and ran with the plot. We've planned out all of season 1 with ideas for season 2, incorporated a plethora of great characters, and been able to mess around with a fun fantasy high school full of our favourites. It's always wonderful to write, and I really like how it's been going!

Thank you again to @snarky-wallflower for the tag! You're amazing <3

As for people I know, I've tagged the vast majority of you already sjhkffg oops.

@charismabee @goldmoth82 @weltato @inprisonforsparkling hey there jpr the au mastermind, fanartist of the century, paul whump bestie and king of michie. you guys are some of my favourite writers out there, i'd love to see what you answer with for this (no pressure ofc!) <33

[rippeanuts1950-2000]

For those of you who have read my works on ao3, next week is going to be the week of updates! Everything that is not complete is getting updated, which is about 5 or 10 works but I’m up for a challenge!(should be a pretty easy one considering I have a couple of half baked chapters on my docs) There will also be a rtc one shot so look out for next week!

[intubatedangel]

Out of Body: Chapter 2

Sorry for taking so long to get back. A bad year followed straight after by a pandemic hasn’t been great, but i’m slowly getting back to my old self and another recent return inspired me to start trying to write a little bit more. I’ll be honest this part isn’t totally new, I did post it somewhere else around the time of the first chapter, but i noticed I hadn’t updated it on here. I’ll probably do a bit more on this story before going back to Anna Swifts stories. Anyway, it’s been nearly 2 years since chapter 1, so you might to check out the previous parts.

Prologue | Chapter 1 |

********

Once I was strapped down on the orange back board, my broken leg packed into a splint, Dave moved down to my feet, positioning himself to lift me into the ambulance. The cop was still compressing my chest as Jane squeezed another breath into my lungs. “After this round, we move. Grab the gear.” She said to the cop.

 “27…28..29…30” The cop finished with a nod, immediately shifting back and pushing himself to his feet. Jane and Dave had already lifted me into the air. The cop hurried to pick up the monitor, the leads stretching close to their limit before he made up the ground.

 I followed, too caught up in the rush to even notice when my legs passed through the wreckage of my bike. The ambulance doors stood open, the bright lights spilling out across the road. Keith was already standing there, even though I hadn’t seen him move.

 “I think I’ve blown your mind enough for now. I’ll explain later.” He glanced down just in front of my chest. “Lifeline’s looking fragile. Best to stay close for now.”

 He was right. The thread was thinner than before, more wispy. I climbed into the ambulance as the back board was slid onto the gurney. Jane took the monitor from the cop. “Drive.” She commanded as she placed the monitor in its dock. The cop hesitated for a moment, before Jane’s glare seemed to pierce right through him. He spun and headed for the cab, grabbing his radio, telling his partner what he was doing.

 For a second, I was concerned about his partner, but realised that Patterson was not that stupid. His plan was in place. I would die, he would spin the story into a tragic accident and spread some tale of how he tried to save me and the people of the city would eat it up. Dave pulled the doors closed and took up position on my left, commencing compressions without Jane saying anything. She was hooking up a saline bag to the central IV, along with pushing in some syringes, and giving me regular breaths with the ambu bag. I sat down on the bench across from my feet, watching my sister as she danced her steth across my bruised chest.

***

In the bright light of the ambulance I could clearly see the deep purple, almost black, bruising fade through to the pallid grey tone of my flesh. After a cycle of compressions Dave grabbed a pair of shears and snipped off my bra. A smaller bruise was starting to form in the valley between my breasts. As soon as the cups were spread to either side, Dave’s blue gloved hands returned to their position and started thrusting down into me. I could see the wave of each compression translate through my abdomen and down my legs, my feet rocking gently despite the straps of the board and the leg splint.

 Jane gave me another breath then grabbed her radio. “304 to control. We are en-route to City Hospital with an RTC, severe left chest trauma with collapsed lung, multiple limb fractures and currently in full cardiac and respiratory arrest. Resuscitation underway.” She didn’t wait for a reply as she gave me another breath the said to Dave. “One more round then I’ll intubate.”

 There was a sudden rumbling as the cop brought the ambulances engine to life, followed by the sound of the sirens as the vehicle began to accelerate away from the scene. I glanced back to see Keith’s upper body sticking through the back door.

“Could you please not do that?” I asked. In response he shrugged and seemed to drift into the back of the ambulance.

“Sorry, you get used to it after a while.” He sat down beside me, careful to keep himself from interposing with Dave’s legs.

 I shook my head, focusing my attention back on the efforts to save my life. Dave counted out each compression, then once he reached 30 he straightened up. Jane had already prepared the intubation kit. The neck brace already held my head in the proper position as she slid the blade of the scope into my mouth. She followed it up with a size 7 ET tube, pushing it down until only a few inches stuck out between my greying lips, and inflated the cuff. Tossing the mask from the ambu bag to one side, she attached the bag to the tube and gave me a few breaths as Dave listened to my lungs.

“You’re in, but I’m barely hearing anything on the left. Suction her out again.” He told her before looping the steth over his neck and restarting compressions. Jane simply nodded and disconnected the ambu bag, laying it next to my head. The suction tube was threaded down the tracheal tube and began to draw out more blood from my lungs. While the suction tube cleared my lungs, Jane taped the breathing tube securely, two thick strips going from each side of my chin, around the tube, and up onto my cheeks towards my studded ears.

 The suction tube ran dry, so Jane pulled it out and resumed bagging while she studied the monitor. I leaned over to see what she was looking at. The line on the monitor was perfectly flat.

“Epi going in.” Jane said, hoping the drug would stimulate my heart into at least a shockable rhythm. She also attached an oximeter to the ring finger of my right hand. It was brief, but I noticed her squeeze my hand. Dave completed his most recent round of compressions, panting slightly, and turned to look at the monitor. The alarm changed from the persistent whine to something more two tone. “V-fib. That’s it sis, now come on back.”

“Sis?!” Dave exclaimed. “I figured you her but…”Jane didn’t answer, she just forced him out of the way, bringing the paddles down onto the orange squares. After a quick glance to make sure Dave was clear she pressed the buttons. The shock slammed through my chest, the straps of the backboard holding me down as muscles around my chest suddenly contracted. The only thing that didn’t react was my heart. “No change.” Dave said quietly.

 Jane didn’t even look at him as her thumbs manipulate the other buttons on the paddles. “360. Stay back.” The defib signalled its readiness a moment before another shock jolted my body. The monitor began to whistle before I was even still. Jane cast the paddles aside, her professional façade starting to crumble as she began rapid, almost frantic compressions.

 The way her body rocked over my chest I could finally see her aura clearly. The fear had grown, almost over-riding everything else. The anger was there, but different, not directed at me, but inward. The gold of determination was little more than a thread, and it was fading, as was my lifeline.

I looked at Keith. “Can’t you do something?”

He frowned, biting his lip. “I…”

“You can clearly do something. Please. Please do it.” I begged.

“It’s not so simple. It takes a lot of energy. I’ll need to return to my source. I won’t be able to guide you.”

“That won’t matter if I’m dead!” I had gotten to my feet, clipping through the gurney where my body rocked. Dave was bagging me with one hand, while his other held a penlight, running it over my eyes.

“Pupils are sluggish.” He said with a sigh.

Keith mirrored the paramedics sigh. “Ok. It’s not a guarantee, I can’t take control or give her any ideas. All I can do is reinforce an emotion. Then it’s up to her. Just stay close to yourself. I’ll find you when I can.”

I nodded and watched as he stepped up right behind her. He reached out, his hands on either side of her head. I tried to figure out what he was doing, but all I could see was the thin gold thread strengthening. It grew rapidly, crowding out the other emotions. As it grew, Jane’s compressions became steadier, her face more focused. Then, with a flash, Keith disappeared.

***

Jane, almost glowing with determination, finished her round of compressions and grabbed the orange gel pad from my left side. She ordered Dave to take over compressions as she started to root around in one of the cupboards.

“What are you doing?” He asked, as she placed a sterile cloth on the bench beside the ethereal me. She didn’t reply as she placed a scalpel, some gauze, a bottle of iodine and an uncuffed size 7 ET tube with a stylet on the cloth. “You aren’t planning on…”

She cut him off. “She needs a chest tube, or she dies.” Jane dabbed the gauze with iodine and began to spread it over the side of my chest.

“You’re not qualified Jane! We don’t even have the proper equipment!” He reached over for the ambu bag and squeezed it twice, before Jane shunted him to the side. “If you screw this up you’ll kill her!”

 Jane turned on him, a blaze of anger, scalpel in hand. “She’s been down for 20 minutes Dave. We’re 10 away from the ER. She’s already dead, unless I do this. I won’t lose her too.” With that last whispered statement, she leaned down over my lifeless body and started using her fingers to count down my ribs. I didn’t realise I’d moved until I watched my ghostly hand pass through her shoulder.

“That wasn’t your fault.” I whispered, even though she couldn’t hear me. “You were 15.”

“4th intercostal space.” Jane muttered as she lowered the scalpel toward my flesh, her hand steady. With one smooth motion she sliced through the skin, a trickle of blood running down my side. She quickly sterilised her finger with the iodine and pushed through the hole, nodding to herself. She grabbed the tube and eased it in alongside her finger, keeping a close eye on the depth indicators along its length.

There was a sudden rush of blood into the tube, held in by the cap of the insertion stylet. “It’s in!” Jane shouted with a grin. She grabbed a carboard spit tray and held it underneath the end of the tube before pulling out the stylet. The blood flowed out of the tube for about 10 seconds, gradually slowing to a trickle. “Give her a breath.”

Dave squeezed the ambu bag my chest rising in response. When it did, it rose evenly. Jane let out a long breath. “That’s it Laura. Start compressions Dave.” He complied, beginning to press down on my battered chest once more. After a dozen compressions Jane clamped the chest tube to prevent it from drawing air back into my chest and began to prepare some more syringes of drugs. She scooted around Dave and pushed the drugs into my system.

Jane gently squeezed the ambu bag every few seconds, keeping one eye on my chest to make sure my lung inflated properly. Between each breath she looked at the monitor, whispering something to herself. After 2 rounds of 30 compressions she held up a hand. I leaned forward to get a look at the monitor. The previously flat trace bounced erratically, and an alarm blared in the confines of the ambulance.

“She’s back in Vfib!” She grabbed the paddles and twisted the dial to 360 as Dave replaced the second gel pad, placing it just beside the improvised chest tube. “I’m all charged, stand clear. Shocking!”

The shock hit my body, my chest convulsing. I fell still, and for a moment silence reigned. No monotone scream, no blaring alarm. Then there was a bleep. Followed by another. And another.

 “Sinus! She’s back with us!” Jane exclaimed, her aura washing through with something that must have been happiness. Or relief. Then I felt a hard tugging on my entire ethereal body. I glanced at the lifeline, broad and practically buzzing with strength. Then it tugged on me again much harder, pulling me towards the broken but alive body on the gurney. I got one last look at Jane, a tear rolling off her cheek as she whispered into my ear, before everything went black.

[thegeekproblem]

Rose Target Novelization Review

I am back on my bullshit and today I’m reviewing the Doctor Who Rose Target Novelization!!!

Now this is how an author expands on something they’ve already done! In The Day of the Doctor, Moffat writes like a 12y/o me fanfic writer, trying to cram as much in what is in actuality already done, he tries to pack as many easter eggs and write as many characters as he can. The Special was good on TV but the novel left much to be desired. With Rose, RTD gets to write the things he already knew, the things he probably had already written, the things he wished could have been in the episode and with that he makes the novel grow.

You can really tell the difference between Moffat and RTC with these two novels. I think Moffat is all about the production value and easter eggs and how big can the show get with little to no consciousness about the characters or a plan; RTD is the opposite, he plans his characters with extreme detail so he knows how they will act in each situation they’re in, and while he had some ridiculousness during the running of the show (let us all forget how the Doctor beat the Master with the power of thought while floating like Jesus) he has known his characters in such depth that you can almost forgive those faults.

In Rose, RTD gets into the minds of his characters and shows us who they are.

The Doctor, fresh out of the war, not wanting to take someone with him but liking how Rose challenges him and reminds him of his previous companions and why he took them with him. You get to look into his thoughts and see how devastated he is after the war, how he’s jumping from one adventure to another just to escape from his thoughts. The survivor's guilt is really important with this Doctor’s characterization and I think RTD nails it.

Rose also gets more background. We get more mentions of Jimmy Stone and why she dropped out of high school. There’s also all that wanderlust she’s feeling, and the desire for adventure that the Doctor awakens in her. (And remember when 10 went back in time to see Rose one last time???? Weeell, let me tell you that it is just as sad from Rose's perspective) 

But by far the character who gets the most of the novelization is Mickey Smith. We really get to see his personality, and how even though we get an awful first impression in the show he’s actually a much more complex character. We get so much background! His family relationships, his relationship with his grandma and how incredibly awesome and amazing she was, who his friends are and how they relate and depend on him for comfort and so much more stuff. We get a brief glimpse of the character he’s going to become and is gold! For real, Mickey gets the best treatment in the novel and I think RTD wanted to do this from the beginning but he wasn’t able because of the time frames of the episodes.

I really enjoyed it! It expands the chapter in the way it should be.

[veliseraptor]

tomorrow is plane time and as we all know that is writing time. my goals for that time are primarily:

finish chapter six of we live until we die (should be imminently doable, will leave most of chapter seven and a sliver of chapter four to write in the first draft holy shit is there an actual end in sight here)

write 300 words in the ex-villain project because I need to stop being scared of it

write 100 words in one of the Lymond projects, please, I’m begging you

honestly that’s it, get those three things done and the rest is optional and at your discretion (there’s also things like “look at edits on RTC holiday fic” and “start writing your year-end top 10 books of 2019 list for Patreon” but those are different categories of goals)

[hymn2000]

Chiquitita - MCU AU fanfic - C15

Story summary: Something strange is happening. Someone from space has made their way to Earth, armed with a strange weapon. Targeting teenagers, their ray gun, when fired, turns the victim into a toddler. The Avengers set out to stop this, and find a way to reverse the effects. However, they don’t all come out of the battle unscathed.

Previous chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Part of my Frostiron and Spiderson series.

Warnings/themes: de-aging, family stuff, corporal punishment (early chapters only), mental health stuff, hurt/comfort, hospital/medical stuff

Chapter 15 - How I Hate To See You Like This

-

Loki’s eyes opened. Everything looked and sounded blurry and fuzzy. He looked at the person above him.

“...Hi...”

“Hi. My name’s Darren; I’m a first aider. I’m just keeping your head still in case you’ve hurt your spine. The ambulance is on it’s way. Do you remember what happened?”

Loki blinked a bit, confused. He didn’t say anything.

“Have you got any pain anywhere?”

“...I’m not sure”

“Ok. Just try not to move”

“...How’s my helmet?”

“Well, it took most of the impact” Darren said, glancing at it where it lay, cast aside. “I think you’ll need a new one. But at least it wasn’t your head that cracked”

Loki laughed slightly. “Well, there is that...”

They were interrupted by sirens, and although he couldn’t see it, Loki heard one of the ambulances park close by. He heard the doors open and close, and he heard the voices.

“Paramedics! How are we doing over here?” one said.

“He’s woken up” Darren said. “I was a bit more concerned with holding c-spine to do a proper primary survey”

“Ok, don’t- Loki?!”

Loki looked up at the paramedics.

“It’s good to see you again, Simon”

“Not under these circumstances” Simon said, kneeling down beside him. “Are you gonna be a pain, or are you gonna let me and Liv take a look at you?”

“Oh please, feel free”

“You’re remarkably talkative for someone who’s just been in an RTC” Darren noted.

Loki looked at him for a moment. “The car...”

“We’ll riddle that bit out later” Liv said. “Si, do you want to sort a survey?”

“My bike...”

“Uhhh” Simon looked at the motorbike, wincing. “Maybe think about yourself for a bit, mate”

Loki went quiet for a little bit, thinking about his body, trying to work out where he was bleeding. He was definitely bleeding; there was no two ways about that. He just hadn’t worked out his injuries properly yet. Nothing felt real. He kept trying to focus on the road underneath him, but it still felt more like sand.

Darren was happy to continue with c-spine, so the paramedics were able to work on other aspects of the emergency.

“Alright mate, time for the horrible bit” Si said. “I’m gonna check you over, starting at your head. Make sure you tell me if anything hurts: don’t play martyr”

“Mm...”

“Have you got anything in your pockets?”

“Phone, wallet... keys are on the bike”

“We’ll grab them. Ok..”

As soon as Si put his hands on him, Loki realised this may be a lot more serious that he first thought. His head hurt. His forehead was definitely one source of bleeding; that was clear now. He saw his reflection in Si’s glasses.

“I don’t suppose you’ve got any slap in your bag, have you, Liv? Darren didn’t say how much of a mess they’d made of my face”

“Loki, shut up” Liv said, albeit gently. “Let Si check you over”

Si checked Loki’s neck, and as he reached the base of the back of it, Loki suddenly cried out and grabbed at his arm.

“Alright mate, alright” Si looked at Liv. “We’re definitely gonna need a collar”

“Noted”

Si touched Loki’s hand gently, subtly checking his fingers and wrist as he did so.

“You’re gonna tear my jacket right off my arm if you’re not careful” he said gently. “Let me check the rest of you”

Loki reluctantly let his arm fall back to his side. Everything seemed to get worse from there. It was as though everything hurt - but some places more than others. His chest was horribly painful. Broken ribs, he guessed. But that wasn’t the main worry: the pain in his back was. It was all he could do not to scream as Si prodded at him.

“Fuck! Oh bloody hell, that really hurts... Fuck. Good god..” he put his hand over Darren’s on the side of his head, sucking his breath and trying to breathe evenly. “I’m overreacting, aren’t I? You’re allowed to tell me if I am”

“We’re gonna stick you on a board” Liv said.

“We’re gonna have to cut your leathers off, you know that, right? Definitely the jacket” Si said.

“Don’t you bloody dare” Loki said, blinking hard in an attempt to stop the tears leaking from his eyes. “It’s vintage. Tony’ll go mad”

“I don’t think it’s the jacket he’s gonna be worried about” Si sighed. “Do you want us to call him?”

“No. I want to know what I’m dealing with before we get him involved”

Liv and Si exchanged a look.

“Well, if you’re sure. We won’t call him”

-

Collared and boarded and on the back of the ambulance, Liv asked again if he wanted them to call Tony. The answer was the same.

Darren had been excused so it was now down to three, and Loki was finding it increasingly difficult to keep his eyes open. His head hurt. His back and ribs really hurt. He was sick of the taste of blood in his mouth too.

“I’m just gonna stick a needle in your hand. Let’s get you some pain relief”

“No”

“Loki-”

“I said no”

Liv sighed silently. “Alright, but let me know if you change your mind. Si, are you driving?”

“Yep. I’ll ring ahead. Hit my window when you’re ready”

He closed up the back behind him and went round to the drivers side. Liv took Loki’s hand.

“How does it feel being on the other side of the table?”

Loki laughed slightly, but more tears welled in his eyes. He tried not to look at her.

“Are you tired? Or is it the light?”

Loki whined vaguely.

“Do you mind if I check your eyes again?”

Loki didn’t push her away when she did. He looked at her afterwards.

“How are they looking?”

“Pupils still equal and reactive, you’ll be glad to hear” she tapped him on the nose with the pen torch. “We’ll get you sorted. Obviously they don’t call you the god of mischief for nothing”

She stood up and banged Si’s window.

“Let’s get you in”

-

The pain of being in a moving vehicle was too much. Loki lasted about five minutes before he was forced to admit defeat.

“I’ve changed my mind” he gasped.

Liv signalled to Si, and he found a place to stop.

“You’re a stubborn git, and it’s not always a good thing” Liv said, readying the needle. “I know you hate this, but please don’t take it out on me”

Loki was in so much pain that he didn’t think a needle in the back of his hand was going to have much of an impact. He was wrong, and he swore a little bit, but he didn’t take it out on Liv.

“Are you ok?”

“Yes, I’m ok”

“Good. 10mg morphine, going in” she smiled at him. “That’s what the needle’s good for”

-

Loki did enough interdepartmental work to know a lot of the A&E and radiology staff, and the friendly faces helped. He could hardly speak. He felt so sick and dizzy and sore and strange. He did his best to let everyone do their jobs, but it wasn’t easy. He fought to stay awake. Just for a little bit. Just until the results were back.

It felt like hours, but he needed to know what was wrong with him. He needed to know the outcomes, the damage, the recovery period. He needed to know it all before he told Tony. He didn’t want Tony hunched up on a waiting room chair waiting for scraps of news. He needed the full facts as soon as he arrived at the hospital. So Loki waited.

“Hello again” Dr Bernie said, coming to Loki’s side. “Sorry for the wait, but with you being so adamant, we had to wait for all the results. So we’ve got your x-rays, and your CT scan-”

“Is my back broken?”

“I’ll tell you if you stop interrupting” Dr Bernie raised an eyebrow, smiling slightly. “No. Your back and neck aren’t broken. Your ribs are, though... We’re going to get you off the collar and board, and we’re going to move you to a side room. We need to go through all your results somewhere a bit more private”

-

Loki grabbed the sleeve of the person closest to the bed. It was a nurse, but not one he knew. She looked at him. He pulled his oxygen mask off.

“Call my husband”

-

Tony was knelt on the living room rug, holding little Peter’s hands captive above his head and tickling his tummy mercilessly. Little Peter was shrieking and laughing and kicking, enjoying the attention. Tony’s phone started ringing.

“Hold on a minute, kiddo” Tony let go of Peter and grabbed his phone. “Hello?”

“Hello, is that Mr Stark?”

“Speaking. Who is this?” Tony asked, standing up, leaving the toddler in a giggly heap on the floor.

“Hello Mr Stark. I’m ringing from A&E”

“Ah, is that where Loki got to, then? He didn’t say anything before he left the house”

“I’m afraid Loki’s been in a road traffic accident”

“Daddy?”

Tony put a hand up to stop Peter and walked out of the room, listening to the lady on the other end of the phone. An overwhelming feeling of nausea had welled in his throat. He could feel his pulse all over his body, so strong it felt like the whole room was pulsating. This couldn’t be happening. Not to Loki. Not now.

-

Tony put his phone back in his pocket and grabbed his keys, shoving his feet into the closest pair of shoes. He needed to get the the hospital as quickly as possible. It wasn’t until he was halfway down the steps to the garage that he remembered Peter. He couldn’t very well leave a toddler at home alone. He couldn’t delay going to the hospital either. He’d just have to come with him. Tony took a deep breath, trying to compose himself, and returned to the living room. Peter grinned up at him.

“Hi daddy!”

Tony knelt down in front of him, putting his hands on the little boys shoulders.

“Peter, darling, I need you to listen to me” Tony said, his voice shaking. “Daddy... Daddy’s had an accident. So we need to go down to the hospital and see him”

“Oh...”

“Now, Peter, sweetheart. Hospitals are... well, they’re where people go to get better. They can be quite scary, and it’s ok if you get scared. But they’re also places where you’ve gotta be really well behaved and quiet. I wouldn’t take you with me but we really need to get there fast, and I haven’t got time to get anyone to look after you. Do you understand?”

“I- um... Is daddy ok?”

“We’ll see. Sweetheart, go and get your shoes. Ok?”

Peter nodded, and ran off obediently when Tony let go of him. Tony looked down at his shaking hands. Part of him was saying he shouldn’t try to drive, not when he was feeling so mixed up and frightened. But he needed to be at Loki’s side as soon as possible. He had to get a move on.

-

Despite the fear hanging over his head, Tony still had a fleeting thought; grateful that toddler Peter didn’t remember all the times teenage Peter had spent in this department. He held the toddler tight, using him as a type of comfort blanket. Peter clung to him. He could sense the urgency of the situation, and he didn’t like the hospital: it was busy and loud, and he was scared.

“I wanna go home!” the toddler whimpered.

“I know, darling, I know” Tony said gently. “We need to find daddy first”

 He was quickly recognised by a member of staff.

“Mr Stark?”

Tony turned round. “Nurse Dunn...”

“We’ve got Loki in a side room. If you’d like to come with me”

Tony followed, but then stopped a few steps from the door. He felt so unbelievably sick. He swallowed hard, hoping he wouldn’t have to make a dash for the nearest men’s room.

“Mr Stark?”

Tony swallowed harder still, and looked at her. “Do you think... Could you take him? I don’t want him in there just yet”

“Yes, of course” Nurse Dunn said gently, taking Peter from him. “Hey little one. Shh, don’t cry. Let’s go and find you a biscuit or something, ok?”

Tony gave Peter a little kiss on the cheek. “Be good”

He took a deep breath, and pushed open the door to the side room.

-

Loki looked so pale. He was lying so still, oxygen mask over his face, hands folded over his stomach. Medical monitors always seems such angry things, but they were evidence that he was alive, at least. Tony glanced at the nurse, but then fixed his gaze on his husband. He approached the bed, and hesitantly rested a hand on Loki’s shoulder.

“Loki?”

Loki's eyes opened. He looked up at Tony, a slight smile tugging at his lips behind the mask.

“...Hello, my darling”

“You idiot... You idiot! I knew this would happen!” Tony burst out, stepping back from the bed, eyes brimming with tears. “You bloody idiot! I told you right at the start! That fucking bike! I told you how many people have accidents on those stupid things! I told you I wasn’t sure, but you insisted you knew best. I never wanted you to get the flippin’ thing in the first place!”

Loki stayed quiet. He let Tony shout, and once he’d paused for breath, reached out his hand. Tony looked at him, and promptly started sobbing. He stepped closer and took Loki’s hand in both of his, holding it to his mouth.

“I could’ve lost you” he cried, kissing his knuckles. “You could’ve been killed!”

Loki reached up and pulled his oxygen mask down. “I’m still here”

“You’re a stubborn idiot” Tony looked at him. “You’re such an idiot! How could you do this?!”

“It wasn’t my fault”

“You were on that bloody bike!” Tony snapped. “You were driving it; of course it was your fault! You and your bloody need for speed mentality have caught up to you, that’s what this is!”

He took a very deep breath, and hugged him, awkwardly as he didn’t want to move him off the bed. He kept one hand on his shoulder, slipping the other under the back of his head. He pressed his cheek against Loki’s, still feeling sick from emotion and fear, and hollow from crying so hard.

“I’m alive” Loki said. “Where’s Peter?”

Tony sat up, looking at him. “Where are you hurt? What’s wrong with you? I want to know everything. Every injury, every condition, every scratch. Tell me what’s wrong with you”

Loki looked up at him. “Ask someone else”

“Don’t you play with me!” Tony snapped. “Don’t you dare!”

“Mr Stark, this isn’t the time” A voice sounded as a doctor came into the room.

Tony stood up and spun round. “What’s wrong with him?”

“Can I convince you to step out for a minute?” Dr Bernie said. “Maybe we could talk about it somewhere else, once you’ve taken a breather”

“No” Tony said. “I’m not leaving him. Just tell me the damage. I need to know”

“All things considered, he’s been very lucky” Dr Bernie said. “But he’s still going to need some recovery time”

“Just tell me” Tony said, knuckling his eyes and trying in vain to stop crying. “Just tell me. List it all, I don’t care. You don’t need to sugar-coat it”

“Ok” Dr Bernie looked at Loki for permission, and then reeled off: “Three broken ribs. Left ankle’s sprained. Multiple abrasions. Severe bruising to the left hip and thigh. Lots of minor to moderate bruising elsewhere. Multiple cuts. Moderate laceration to the forehead. Moderate whiplash. Ring finger on the right hand is broken. As I said; he’s been very lucky”

Tony stared for a minute, and then looked at Loki.

“See? It could have been far worse” Loki said, trying to be reassuring. He tried to lighten the mood. “I’m afraid I’ll need some new leathers though. And a new helmet. Oh, and the bike is totalled”

“You’re such an idiot” Tony said, knuckling his eyes. “Why can’t you just take anything seriously?! You could have died! What if it had been worse?! What if you hadn’t been wearing your leathers?! You fucking idiot!”

“Mr Stark, please”

“I’ve always told him that bike was a death trap! He-”

“It wasn’t my fault” Loki tried again.

“Of course it was!”

“Mr Stark, I don’t know what they told you on the phone” Dr Bernie said. “But Loki was hit by a drunk driver who ran a red light”

Tony was shocked to silence for a moment. He looked at Loki, his eyes filling with tears once more. He wasn’t sure if that was worse or not.

“Tony” Loki reached out, taking Tony’s hand. “It could have been worse”

“That’s the scary bit! They hit you... Where are they? They need to pay for what they’ve done to you!”

“Mr Stark, please” Dr Bernie said. “You can look into pressing charges later. Focus on your husband for now”

Tony looked at him. He closed his eyes for a moment, counting to ten. He opened his eyes, nodded, and carefully climbed onto the bed, lying down beside Loki. He put an arm round his chest and rested his forehead against Loki’s temple. The doctor tactfully left the room. Loki found Tony’s hand and held it.

“I’m not human” he said. “I won’t be laid up for weeks: I’ll be back to my usual self in a few days. A week at the most”

“I was so scared” Tony said. “When I got that phone call, I just... I felt so sick. I still feel sick”

“I’m sorry. I never meant for you to worry. That’s why I waited and didn’t let them call you until I was sorted”

“You should’ve called me down straight away”

“I’m sorry... I love you. I love you so much. The car just came out of nowhere. I didn’t even really comprehend... I think it ran a red light. They were drunk, that’s what everyone’s saying”

“...I’m sorry. I shouldn’t’ve shouted at you, or called you an idiot. I was just so scared. I just reacted without thinking”

“I know” Loki squeezed Tony’s hand as best he could with a broken finger. “It’s ok; I forgive you... Where’s Peter?”

“I gave him to Nurse Dunn. I didn’t know what I was gonna see coming in here. I needed to see you alone for a bit”

“I want to see him”

"Not yet. Let’s wait a bit”

“I want to see him” Loki repeated.

“We need to talk first. We need to compose ourselves. Especially me”

Loki closed his eyes. “Stop crying”

“I can’t help it. I was so scared-!” He held Loki tighter, kissing him hard on the cheek. “Why did you go out? Why did you have to go out?!”

“I just needed to go out. You were being so ignorant and insensitive. I was angry with you. I just needed a breather”

“What? No I wasn’t!”

“Yes you were! I was trying to tell you how I was feeling, and you said I was overreacting, and you said I was an idiot. I was nothing but supportive of you throughout your post-adoption depression, not to mention all your other bouts of mental illness, so the least you could do is hear me out, if not repay the favour”

Tony went quiet for a minute. “Did I really say that?”

“Yes, you really did. You sent me away when we got back too”

“Well yeah, to cool off. I made you something to eat, too”

“I know that” Loki almost snapped. “That doesn’t take away the fact you were insensitive and didn’t want to hear what I had to say”

“Don’t you think you’re jumping to conclusions a little bit? It could just be normal depression”

“It’s been triggered by this whole situation with Kindsprengen. I drew a logical conclusion” 

Tony sighed, propping himself up on his elbow. “I love you, Loki. But maybe we should wait and talk about this once you’re better”

“Surely talking about it now is the perfect time? If I’m going to be out of action for a few days, that gives us a lot of time to talk”

“Not with a toddler to look after as well”

“He’s in bed early, and he has an afternoon nap. Besides, he’s so distracted with playing all the time. It’s not that much of an obstacle” Loki said. “Unless you want it to be”

“Why do you always have to change the subject and pretend other things aren’t happening? Can’t you let me worry about the fact that you got hit by a car for a little bit before we launch onto the next thing?”

“This isn’t the next thing. I brought it up before the accident”

“You know what I mean”

“So do you”

Tony sat up properly, and slowly slipped off the bed. “Do you wanna sit up?”

Loki looked away, and nodded slightly. Tony helped him sit up, and took his good hand.

“Are they keeping you in?”

“They didn’t say. I would doubt it”

“Good. I’ve gotta say, that’s a relief. I don’t know if I could deal with...”

“Painful memories?”

Tony nodded. “Painful memories... I’ll admit that the idea of having to get reacquainted with Nurse Tyler did just cross my mind”

Loki squeezed his hand. “I didn’t think... I know how hard that was for you”

“I don’t want to talk about it”

“I know... You never do. You’ve never talked about it, not since I was discharged”

Tony looked down at their hands. He looked at the rings on Loki’s ring finger, and stroked them gently with his thumb.

“...I spent so many hours sat by your side holding your hand like this. We were still basically considered newly-weds. They’d taken your rings off but I insisted you’d want to wear them. They said no at first, but once you were more stable... Poor little Peter spent so much of his free time there. It was the school holidays, wasn’t it? He was just here so constantly. Even that first night. Poor kid must’ve been terrified. He spent way too much time curled up asleep in a hospital chair”

Loki held his hand tight. Tony took a deep breath. He opened his mouth to continue, but was interrupted by a knock on the door. 

“Oh” Tony couldn’t help but smile slightly as the door opened. “I forgot how fast news travels round here”

-

Just as the group of Loki’s colleagues cleared out, another person appeared. 

“You’re straggling” Tony said.

“Haha, yeah. Sorry about that” Jo Jo smiled awkwardly, approaching the bed. “What are you like, eh?”

Loki couldn’t help smiling at his fellow nurse. “It’s good to see you”

“Mind if I give you a hug?” Jo Jo said, doing so anyway. “Bloody drunk drivers! What’s the damage?”

“I’ll be back to my usual self in no more than a week” Loki said. 

“Any update on the car?”

“Passenger died. Driver is critical” Loki said. 

Jo Jo sucked his breath.

“Idiots, that’s what they are” Tony said. “No other word for it”

“Well, I think it doesn’t bare thinking about” Jo Jo said awkwardly. “How are you feeling, Lokes?”

“I’ve been better, but not too bad, considering the circumstances”

“Good. I’m glad you’re ok. We were all pretty worried”

Tony excused himself from the room. He knew Loki and Jo Jo were fairly close, and he wanted to give them a little space. Besides, he had something he needed to get.

-

Loki lit up when Tony came back into the room with little Peter balanced on his hip, and Jo Jo gasped.

“Is this baby Peter?! Aww, look at him! Can I hold him?”

Tony laughed. “What do you think, bambino? You wanna go over to Jo Jo for a bit?”

Peter held tight to his rocket, and nodded slightly. Tony passed him over to Jo Jo, who seemed delighted.

“Hey, little sweetheart!” he smiled, stroking the toddlers curls gently and tickling him under the chin. “Aren’t you a cutie?” he looked at Loki. “He’s lovely”

Loki smiled. “I know... Can I have him? I’ve been waiting rather a long time”

“Yeah yeah, of course” Jo Jo nodded. “Over to daddy now, ok?”

Peter was all too happy to be passed over. Loki held him close, almost desperately, kissing his cheek and stroking his hair firmly. 

“Hello, my darling” he said. “How are you doing?”

“Daddy said you had an accident”

Loki loosened his grip so Peter could sit back on his heels and look at him. 

“Yes, but I’m ok” 

“You’re hurt” Peter said, noting his dressings and the obvious cuts and bruises on show.

“Only a little bit. Have you been a good boy while you’ve been here?”

“That nurse gave me a biscuit and we played snap” Peter yawned.

“Lovely...” he looked at Tony. “He’s tired. You need to take him home”

“I’m not leaving you” Tony said firmly. 

“Well then you need someone to do it for you. It’s not fair to keep him here”

“Uhhh...” Tony looked at Jo Jo. “I don’t suppose you could..?”

Jo Jo put his hands up. “Sorry, I’m on shift”

“But you’re down here”

“I’m on my break” Jo Jo said. 

“Then why are you here instead of in the staff room downing an instant pasta pot?” Loki teased, knowing the nurses bad habit.

“I’ve been itching to get away for hours, ever since I heard that they’d brought you in. It’s just been really busy tonight” he looked back at Tony. “I’m sorry; I can’t”

“Take him home, Tony” Loki said.

“I’m not leaving you. I’ll have to ring round, see if anyone can take him”

Loki looked at Peter, stroking his hair gently. “Is Barton still in town?”

“I think so?” Tony said. “You want me to call him?”

Loki nodded. “Peter needs looking after”

Jo Jo’s pager beeped. He checked it, sighed, and silenced it. He gave Loki a quick hug and a kiss on his bruised cheek.

“I’ve gotta go.  You look after yourself” he straightened up, clearing his throat. “See you on the ward some time?”

“Definitely”

-

Clint shook his head at Tony in the hospital car park.

“Why is that whenever there’s a crisis, it’s always you three?”

“You’re not funny” Tony said. “Thanks for coming down”

“Hey, it’s no problem. I said I’d help out if you ever needed me” Clint said. 

“Yeah... We’ll put the car seat in your car. Might be easier that way..”

They sorted the car seat, and Clint leant against his car.

“Are you ok?”

Tony nodded. He shook his head, and shrugged. “I think I’m still in a bit of shock”

“How’s Loki?”

“...It could have been worse. I don’t think they’re gonna keep him in, but... I don’t know” he looked at Peter, and kissed him on the cheek. “Uncle Clint’s gonna take you home now”

Peter nodded slightly. Clint carefully took him from Tony.

“Hey, little guy”

“He needs a bath tonight” Tony said. “There’s plenty of stuff in the kitchen, so... If he gets difficult, like if he won’t do something, you can sometimes kid him into doing it by pretending it’s a superhero mission, and-”

“Tony, it’s fine. I’ve got this” Clint said. “He’ll be fine with me. Just keep me updated on Loki, and we’ll talk later”

“Ok... Ok. Oh god, it’s gotten late so quickly”

“Go back in” Clint said, strapping Peter into his car seat and closing the door. “He needs you the most right now. Don’t worry about the kid”

Tony looked at Clint. If it had been anyone else, he probably would have hugged them. Instead he nodded, thanked him, and turned on his heel. Clint was right: Loki needed him the most right now.

*

[timeofjuly]

RTC chapter 10 coming later today - here's one last snippet below the cut :)

“Hi, Blue,” you say, and if Quinn didn’t know you so well, the strained twitch of your smile would’ve gone unnoticed. “I was just telling your brother about my flat tire and how your lovely, generous girlfriend is letting me stay the night.”

“She is lovely and generous,” Blue agrees, “and beautiful, and kind.”

“and she’s really good at monopoly,” Stretch adds. “she doesn’t even need to cheat.”

Quinn rolls her eyes. “She’s going to get a big head if you keep this up.”

“You could do with an ego boost,” you say, accepting the glass of water with a smile. For someone sitting in a room full of their exe’s current partners, you’re doing a remarkable job of staying relaxed.

“If only I could borrow some of yours,” she teases.

“Go ahead, I’ve got plenty to spare.” You cast Blue a sideways glance. “Not when it comes to running, though. You can ask Blue. I’ve been well and truly humbled.”

Look at you, trying to make friends through the tried-and-true method of self-deprecation! You must really want to make this work.

“We should go for a light jog after dinner,” he suggests. “Nothing too strenuous.”

You wince. “You and I have very different definitions of strenuous. I’m still sore from last time.”

You realise immediately, of course, how inappropriate that sounds. Your eyes widen and holy shit, is that a blush?

“Don’t be silly, you did a wonderful job of keeping up. Not everyone has my stamina,” Blue replies, and if Quinn didn’t know him, she’d think that the words were completely innocent.

[cr0wqui11]

I wrote the beginning of chapter 10 today and I WANT TO GIVE CONSTANCE A HUG ☹️☹️☹️

[pasiphile]

terriblebeastie replied to your post: Pasi is it just me or is chapter 10 going to be an...

Ohh I thought I remembered you saying RTC was 124k and I was thinking aw Lawd 40k chapter :0

oh nope, the total wordcount is not gonna cross the 100K. 

Possibly.

[placesthatchangedpeople]

Ashcreek Ranch Academy testimony

The Founder of Ashcreek Ranch Academy also founded the infamous Copper Canyon Academy which later was sold to Aspen Education Group. However in the end the reputation of Copper Canyon Academy caught up with it after enough teenagers left the program. It was renamed to Sedona Sky Academy in order to escape the dark past. Whether the same will happen to Ashcreek Ranch Academy, we have to see in the future. Here is a testimony from one of the teenagers who was confined to the ranch:

Throughout my "treatment experience" which consists of one wilderness program (TRAILS) and two RTCs (Waypoint and Ashcreek) Ashcreek was by far the worst thing I had to go through. Every single aspect of the program is centered around money (it costs 10k a month), they will take as many shortcuts as they can and keep you there as long as possible just to ensure they're getting what they want.

The owners and therapists have no interest in the lives of the students at all, and they act completely different around parents and tours that come to make sure nobody gets pulled, and to try to get as many new kids as possible, even though it was horribly overcrowded when I was there. There were barely enough beds to fit everyone, and people were forced to stand since there weren't enough seats.

This also had a large effect on the food, as we got served small portions of pre-cooked or frozen food. We rarely ever went on activities, and when we did they were usually free hikes that lasted for around half an hour. We had little free time, but the majority of it consisted of sitting on worn down couches and talking (not to mention our conversations were monitored closely by the staff). You weren't allowed to talk poorly about the program, otherwise the staff and therapists would get mad at you, and if you complained about it to your parents in a letter or a phone call, the therapists would convince your parents that you were trying to manipulate them.

Most of our time was spent working on a ranch, which was supposed to build responsibility and improve your relationship skills with "equine therapy". In reality we rarely ever interacted with horses, and when we did it just involved cleaning up their shit. We spent 4-6 hours during the weekdays at the ranch, and 8 on the weekends, and nearly all of this time consisted of doing chores around the ranch for the owner. But of course, when the parents came around, or it was time to send photos of us, we would all of a sudden get to ride the horses or do fun things. This is completely unacceptable on their part, straight up lying to the parents and making them think we're actually changing is horrible.

The education was also very poor. School was 4-6 hours a day, and all we would do was read out of outdated textbooks and complete quizzes after finishing a chapter. Some of the teachers are incompetent, there's no way they would actually be able to teach at a real boarding school, or even a public school. On the other hand, some of the teachers tried to do the best with what they had, and tried to make things good for us. The same can be said with a lot of the staff, many of them genuinely cared and were actually good people. Unfortunately, the therapists and administration were not, which is why the program is so ineffective and wrong.

One of the worst things I saw happen to a kid (who happened to be my best friend there) was after he tried to give himself a tattoo. After hearing this from another student (students would often snitch on each other to get the therapists and staff to like them, since it meant they could level up and leave faster) his therapist and one of the lead staff kept him locked up in a room in the basement for a week straight. During this time, he was not allowed to talk to anybody, he couldn't do anything besides sit there (not even sleep), and he could only leave the room to go to the bathroom. Keep in mind, he had no intentions of hurting himself, anybody else, or doing anything really wrong. I consider that level or isolation abuse, and it shouldn't be allowed anywhere (but of course it is in Utah).

The students operate in a level system that consists of four levels. The therapists decide when you're "ready" to level up, but in reality you're "ready" when you've been there a certain amount of time. After all, they can't let kids leave too soon or they won't get enough money! The level privileges and stuff are pretty basic: off-campus visits at level two, overnight visits at level three, and home visits at level four.

Most people are there for 10-16 months, I luckily got out in four months, but only because I did not return from a home visit. The worst part about this place is how they advertise and portray themselves; it's despicable. They feel the need to constantly remind you about how great Ashcreek is, and how it's so different from all the other programs (WHEN IN REALITY IT'S LITERALLY THE EXACT SAME THING AS EVERY OTHER RTC). They pretend like they do nothing wrong. They act as if they're a gift from god. Under this mask, however, is just another horrible place run by unqualified businessmen that see a chance for a lot of money. Hopefully this helps, if anyone has any questions, feel free to ask me.

[sagarrachnagrp]

Best CBSE Question Bank Class 10 Hindi 2024-25 | Couse A Textbooks Kshitij & Kritika

Together with CBSE Class 10 Question Bank 2024-2025 Hindi A with Chapter-wise Flow Charts. Solved Practice Questions and Practice Papers given in the most recommended practice material for 2025 Board exams. MCQs, Short/Long Questions, RTCs, Solved NCERT Textbook (Kshitij & Kritika) Exercises forms an importance section in CBSE Question Bank Class 10 2025.