#ah the joys of writing fanfiction

[pacificwaternymph]

God trying to get Scott to talk about his emotions is like pulling teeth.

[blorbologist]

Two for joy: Chapter 27

[Posting this week's chapter early - I just attended a wedding and am off to smores! Will likely head to bed early due to the drive tomorrow, so figured I'd get this out of the way. This is one of my favorite chapters, so I dearly hope you enjoy!]

“Oh, thank goodness you’re back!” Tary has Percy by the lapels and is shaking him as soon as the rest of the party steps foot in Whitestone. “Thank goodness - I was almost kidnapped! Stolen away!”

“You were what?!”

--

(Kidnappings become a touch difficult in a city hosting a sizable number of mages for a special occasion.)

(It is perhaps shoddy luck that led it to be Kima who uncovered the deception.)

(Given what happened to one of her own last time a traitor was among their midst, she was not in the most merciful of moods. Kr’yyn’s corpse provided all the insight needed.)

--

“I don’t want you to delay your wedding again,” Tary laments, head in his hands. Doty pats him on the back a few times, bleating “Tary, Tary, Tary ” as gently as a construct can.

Vex also rubs soothing circles over his back, mindful of Doty’s ministrations. “Oh, Goldie, it’s alright -”

“You couldn’t possibly have it without me! I’m your best friend - your man of honor!”

“Yes, that’s true,” she agrees with a little laugh. 

“Could we, maybe, visit my family? Once you’re both back from the honeymoon?” Tary asks. “There has to be a reason father hired her, and I - I need to know.”

“Of course, dear.”

“And if more thugs come to Whitestone to take me home?”

Vex smirks. “It’s Whitestone, darling. I’d like to see them try - especially now that we know they’re coming.”

[One for sorrow] [Ch1] [Keep reading on AO3] 

[wildflowers-inthemeadow]

when you wrote a fanfic that you are absolutely satisfied with, but then there is this kissing scene and it absolutely makes no sense, no matter how often you rewrite it.

*frustrated groan*

[morhath]

I know I decided I was going to be lazy and sloppy and not super on top of edits for this fanfiction because I just want to FINISH it. but I have I considered that I am a perfectionist.

[shikariiin]

Valentine's break

A Short TTTE fanfiction - Valentine Special

They haven't dated in this timeline :3, I rarely write, so excuse my rookie mistakes.

---------------------

Edward puffed his cigarette, the night wind gently blowing on his hair as the stars above him shined.

The usual valentine's night for the K2.

As he took a long drag, memories flooded back: past loves, and heartaches. He stared off to the distance, aiming fault to himself for everything that had happened, guilt slowly creeping up, his mind going numb.

Valentine's Day was not his favorite, though he'd never openly admit it.

Abruptly, his thoughts were disrupted as a red coat cascaded down upon him, enveloping him in its warmth and vibrant hue. He looked up to a familiar face.

"Mind if I join?" James spoke softly, Edward blinked slowly almost dumbfounded "ah...sure?" he finally answered.

The red man sat beside him, drinking his water bottle "wasn't expecting to find you here" James leaned back, relaxing into the grass.

"Wasn't expecting anyone to find me" Edward smiled, feeling amused, "cigarette?" He handed the half-empty box, "good god no" James immediately refused, as stressful as he gets, he would never smoke nor drink, he wasn't raised that way.

Edward only smiled before looking away, James took notice of his demeanor, "you're not going out? It's valentine's day" he asked the K2.

Edward says as he exhales smoke, "I....I've had enough of Valentine's," an answer James wasn't expecting. "Why's that?" James asks, intrigued nonetheless. Edward sighed, his gaze drifting to the distant horizon.

The weight of past disappointments heavy on his heart. "Every Valentine's Day just reminds me of what I've lost," he confesses, his voice tinged with regret. James nods understandingly, silently acknowledging the pain concealed behind Edward's tough exterior.

"what if someone asked you out? Would you go?" James asked again, his eyes not moving away from the blue haired man.

"goodness they deserved better!" Edward sheepishly laugh "I don't expect anyone to ask me out, get a better standard I'd say"

his smile subsided before looking down to his knees "Love hurts" He inhaled deeply from his cigarette.

James looked at him, having been hurt from hearing the K2 talk about himself like that, "I think you're exceptional," James murmured softly, his gaze drifting upward to the somber sky above.

"You've made alot of impact on this railway, supporting countless engines," James remarked, taking a sip from his water bottle. "you're worth a-lot more than you give yourself credit for" he smiled.

Edward glanced at him, a spark of joy igniting within him, and he couldn't help but return the smile, though a blush colored his cheeks.

"Why aren't you going out for valentine?" Edward asked back, his mood eased as he lay down next to James.

"I have high standards!" James answered vainly, he smiled proudly at himself, Earning a laugh from the K2, his endearing laugh was not of ridicule, but of amusement.

James joined in,The atmosphere shifted, filled with warmth and tenderness as both decided to spend the rest of the night together, neither wanting to leave.

"Happy valentines day, Edward"

"Happy valentines day, James"

Maybe one day they'll actually celebrate valentine together.

[lavendercffin]

Wally x Fem! Reader

Quick sidenote: this is my first time writing a fanfiction publicly so it might not be the best, I plan on making a wally x reader and a gender neutral reader one eventually.

Alsooo headers are by onethousandayys

Chapter one: By tonight I'll be married

The sky couldnt have been anyone perfect, a mixture of clouds not to much but not to little the world's most perfect morning, it's as if the universe blessed today just for you. You couldn't help but appreciate how amazing everything looked today,it was your wedding day after all!

You thought about everything leading up to this day, leaving the big city, moving into the neighborhood and meeting wally at howdy's place.The first date, the second, the day wally asked you to be is girlfriend and finally, his proposal. lost in your own little world, you didn't even hear Poppy and Julie enter your room.

"Y/N ITS READDYY, IT'S HERE AND READY AND- AAAHHHHHH" Julie on her tippy toes and flapping her arms up and down and about to burst with joy,She was almost as energetic as Sally!

"Y/n dear it's ready, I hope you love it! I don't sew that often dearie." Poppy squeaked out, she slowly revealed a garment bag and slowl-

"WAITTTTT!!" Julie screamed startling both you and poppy. "Sally wanted to be here for the reveal, plus it's still early we would wait for the rest of the bridesmaids to arrive it's still dawn afterall , thought I REALLY wanna see it" Julie torn between the excitement .

You and poppy couldn't help but chuckle, but agreed to wait and decided to hang out before it was time to get ready. "I'll make breakfast! We can have a little breakfast with the others before we need to get ready" Poppy walked off to your kitchen leaving just you and Julie in the room.

"Julie thank you, for everything. I really appreciate it all, this is all just...so unreal to me I can't believe I'm gonna be married by the end of today!!!" You held Julie's hand and smiled, she jumped into your arms with the biggest grin you've ever seen on her face.

"Awww Y/N!! It's no biggie I'm just so happy for you and wally, you two are truly ment for eachother" suddenly the sound of the doorbell alerted everyone in the house of someone's arrival, Julie rushed to the door

"JULIE!!! IS IT DONE?? DID POPPY FINISH IT?!?!" You walked out of your bedroom not needing to ask who it was, the excitement told you everything. "Sally! You ran to fast I couldn't catch up in time!"

You could hear Frank's voice appearing to be slightly raspy as he tried to catch his breath(???) You chuckled and greeted them both inside.

"Breakfast is ready! I hope you all enjoy it well sit down everyone!" The group quickly took their places at the table and talked in excitement of the neighborhoods biggest event since Frank and Eddie's wedding!

You were the last to be seated and once you did you couldn't help but look around the table at your closest friends eating and you couldnt help but look at the amount of support you have around the table and knowing that isnt everyone, the massive amount of love they had for you, wedding. The massive of love they had for you.

You couldn't help but smile.

"Hellloooo?? Y/n?? You're oddly quiet, you should be the most over the moon today!!" Sally stated inbetween chews of her food,

"Ah! Sorry Sally, I am really excited I'm just. I can't believe it it's amazing! Honestly, I couldn't be happier" you smiled at her "but... I am nervous" you added as you fidgeted around in your seat after.

"It's perfectly normally Y/n but don't worry. Wally loves you and you love him, everything will go according to plan. We'll make sure of it" frank looked at how you were fidgeting and put his hand on your shoulder calming your nerves..

"Thanks, and yeah you are right! Okay guys! It's time to get ready"

Julie and Sally squealed as they rushed up from the table and dragged you off to your room to start the transition from normal day puppet to bride! Poppy and frank laughed and got up from the table and followed behind the two and the soon to be Mrs.Darling

"I wonder how the others are doing"

Annndd that's it cuz thats how much I felt like writing rn!! Anyways yeah :3 hopefully u enjoyed cuz I have no idea what I'm doing

[existslikepristin]

Okay, so I actually had a decent number of new followers in the last couple of days who have she/her in their bios, so I don't know exactly how accurate this part is anymore and I apologize for that. I'm going to have to write more futa!you or something if this trend continues and my audience becomes more diverse. Anyway, we'll carry on with the plan for the time being. I hope everyone can find this amusing, failing all else

Tags: NSFW, S.M.U.T., genie, getting sexual

(Story Index)

Asking for sex stuff

You shrug. "Well, as long as I'm safe, discovering stuff 'the fun way' sounds fine. But as a point of interest, what did you mean by 'Whether or not the questions come before you do…?'"

"Ah, yes, I'm sorry the spelling was off, but I meant you might cum before asking the questions."

"Cum?"

"You know, like in my mouth."

You blink. "O-oh. Is that option still on the table?"

"Could be."

"You'll give me a blowjob?"

"As long as you have the equipment for it. Let me check…" Joy looks at the blogs of the people who have liked the posts and assumes they're overwhelmingly majority male, "Yeah, I believe a blowjob would be what I'll give you. If you don’t have a penis, you can just pretend I gave you one with magic, and maybe we can get around to removing it later."

"What?"

"Don't worry about it. So, you want a blowjob?"

"Yeah!"

"Is that a wish?"

"Oh. Uh, no—"

Joy cuts you off. The air around you seems to get darker, heavier. "So you're trying to disguise a wish already?! Breaking a rule already?!"

"Wh-what?! No! I was just—I thought you were offering!"

The atmosphere returns to normal. Joy smiles and leans in toward you. "I was."

As if by magic (probably actually by magic), your shorts come undone and fall around your ankles. Not-strangely, your cock is already hard. A little bit of sudden, temporary, existential terror has that effect on you, apparently. Not only is your dick hard, but it is in the hands of a mysterious, expositorial woman.

Her touch is divine (literally, maybe). An unexpected, transcendent pleasure pulses through your entire body, but quickly fades and is replaced with the far more normal—but still wonderful—sensation of lips wrapping around your dick. Joy may not be human, but she sure feels like it.

All those descriptions of blowjobs that you’ve read in K-pop fanfiction suddenly and simultaneously make sense. Not that that’s new information to you, obviously. You’ve definitely had a blowjob before. Like a lot of blowjobs. You even know that they call a group of blowjobs a “buzz” because you’ve had so many. Yes, you’ve totally had a buzz of blowjobs. It’s just that it happened in Canada, so other people wouldn’t really know.

Joy beats out that whole buzz though. She swirls her tongue and applies pressure everywhere that it matters. It’s a massage and an adrenaline rush in a single, skimpily-packaged gift box. A gift box with very slightly glowing green eyes, a personality, and her own hopes and dreams, probably, forgoing a deep discussion of those things in favor of making your cock feel really good. Put some respect on this eternally bound slave.

Options:

Oh gosh, wow. Let’s not complicate things yet and just enJoy™ this. Because you know what’s great? That’s right. It’s blowjobs that are great.

Wait a second. This doesn’t feel right, demanding a blowjob when you just barely met this woman! Ask her to stop so you can take her to dinner first, at least.

Moral implications be damned! She’s clearly into this. Get her undressed and advance this sexual session into something more traditional.

Hey, blowjobs are great and all, as stated in option 1, but you’ve got a being of unfathomable cosmic power on her knees here. Get wishing!

[allastoredeer]

I didn't realize we could just drop in and say "hello"! Hello! I just wanna say that I legit haven't been so deep in any kind of fandom since the Harry Potter days and I'm SO GLAD that I came across "Just Kiss Already" a couple of weeks ago. It's been like a domino effect ever since. Firstly, I watched the show and was like "Okay that was really good but I need more! I wonder if people still write fanfiction?" I went my my old stomping grounds, fanfiction.net, but there was only like 1K HH stories there. Clearly there's another place. Thankfully I discovered AO3 and omg.. the OPTIONS it had! So I found your story, LOVED it, then found your tumblr, looked though it and found all the awesome fanart, made my own tumblr and now I'm drawing fanart again for like the first time in almost 20 years! I just wanted to let you know that you are such an AMAZING writer and I feel like I'm fortunate to have discovered your work as early as I did. The show alone, I might have lost interest already but because of fantastic people like you, you've made me so much more interested in the characters, their personalities and their possible stories.

It's going to be a painfully long wait for season 2 you make the wait more bearable. Please don't stop writing. You have an astonishing understanding of the characters and I check every day for new updates! Thank you!

HI! Hahah, I love it when people pop in to say hello, so feel free to do so whenever!

Ah, when that hyperfixation sets in deep and won't let you go. Oh man, I feel you. When you mentioned fanfiction.net you sent me ZOOMING into the past when that was my old stomping ground too XD I've since moved to AO3 and despite still having fics on FF.net I hardly go there anymore. So, welcome!! AO3 is a goldmine of fics, so I hope you're eating your fill!

AhhhhhhhhH! ♥‿♥ It's so awesome to see people getting creative and writing their own fics & making their own fan-art! TBH it's been a while since I've been in a fandom THIS active (actually, I don't think I've EVER been in a fandom this active), so interacting with so many awesome people with shared interests is just hhhhhhhhhh it's been amazing.

And thank you so much (;´༎ຶД༎ຶ`) I absolutely LOVE writing. It is a passion of mine. Storytelling and character analysis brings me so much joy, and to hear that it brings other people just as much joy makes me just

I love sharing stuff with you guys 🥺 and I love that you love it in turn. It's a cycle of love and appreciation and it's beautiful. I have a lot of Hazbin thoughts and prompts squirreled away, not just for my RadioApple series ;) and I'm very excited to get into them!

Thank you so much for dropping by to say hi! 😍

[elbertsbabygirl]

Title: Shadows of the Heart: A Birthday to Remember

William rex x reader

Fandoms: ikemen villians

Note: I hope you enjoyed this reader fanfiction with us celebrating Williams birthday I am sorry if it's not like a professional writer this is just my first writing a fanfiction series but I promise to do better soon when I am used to it ok 🎉 happy birthday our William🎉

Header and spacers :@natimiles

In the dimly lit chambers of the villain's stronghold, the anticipation of William Rex's birthday hangs in the air like a tangible presence. The clock ticks steadily towards midnight, marking the onset of another year for the enigmatic anti-hero.

**William **: "Another year, another chapter in this endless saga. What surprises does fate have in store for me tonight?"

As the clock strikes twelve, a haunting melody resonates through the corridors, drawing William's attention to a figure silhouetted against the moonlit backdrop.

"Happy birthday, William. I come bearing a gift for the one who walks the path between darkness and light."

A flicker of curiosity dances in William's eyes as he regards you, his unexpected visitor, with a mixture of intrigue and bemusement.

**William *: "Ah, my dear robin, fluttering into the shadows once more. What have you brought for this weary soul?"

Your heart swells at the affectionate nickname, a testament to the bond that has formed between you despite the chaos that surrounds you.

"I thought this might offer a glimmer of solace amidst the shadows that cloak your world."

Hand in hand, William leads you to a secluded alcove beneath the star-strewn sky, where the weight of his burdens seems to lift, if only for a fleeting moment.

**William **: "Here, under the watchful gaze of the stars, we can speak freely, unencumbered by the expectations of the world."

As the night unfolds, William's guarded facade begins to crumble, revealing the vulnerability that lies beneath.

**William :**: "My dear robin, you have a way of peeling back the layers of my defenses, revealing truths I've long kept hidden."

In the quiet hours before dawn, bathed in the soft glow of moonlight, you find yourself drawn into William's embrace, the barriers between you melting away like frost in the warmth of the morning sun.

"With you, William, I feel as though I've found a home amidst the chaos. You've shown me that even in the darkest of times, there is light to be found."

**William **: "And with you, my dear robin, I've found a sense of purpose I never thought possible. Together, we can face whatever challenges lie ahead."

As the first light of dawn breaks on the horizon, casting a golden hue over the world, William Rex stands before you, his heart laid bare in the quiet intimacy of the moment.

**William *: "On this day, with you by my side, I feel as though I can conquer the world. My dear robin, you've given me a gift beyond measure."

With a tender smile, he reaches for your hand, his fingers intertwining with yours in a silent vow of unwavering devotion.

As they stand on the precipice of a new day, William and his beloved robin face the future with courage and determination, knowing that whatever trials may come, they will face them together.

"Happy birthday, William. Here's to many more adventures, and to the love that binds us, stronger than any chains of fate."

**William **: "And to you, my dear robin, my partner in crime and in love. With you by my side, there's nothing we can't overcome."

Hand in hand, they step forward into the dawn, ready to embrace whatever challenges and joys the future may hold, secure in the knowledge that their love will light the way through the darkest of nights.

[autumnbrambleagain]

Hey I started reading Proselitize three days ago and it's so engrossing and amazing I really have to praise it.

Caves of Qud is a game that really rewards thinking and examination of its contents, and it's so wonderful to see a story engage with that.

Also Annaface is such a wonderful character. I relate deeply to her desire to be Monstrous (I just reached the scene with the skin, and WOW). I'm a disabled trans woman, and I find myself pushing my personal style further when head out to public, because if people are gojng to stare they're going to stare on *my* terms. It's not quite the same, bit i feel a kinship in some ways, you know.

Anyway, you've made some wonderful words.

Live and Drink, water-sib.

Ah thank you thank you thank you! On an increasingly depersonalized internet comments like this are a joy to see still out there in the wild

The main reason I started writing Proselytize in the end is because Qud has so much IN it, and the gameplay only lets you engage with it SO far, and it was frustrating not getting to explore the themes it presented in excessive depth. What does it mean to be friends with the goatfolk and neutral to Mechanimists and see them assault a pilgrim in the jungle? Do you have an obligation to help? How can you even help? Are you the bad person for being friends with them? Or does the occasional stranger die nameless in the jungle, and that's how life goes?

What actually happens, narratively, emotionally, socially, personally, when you fucking slaughter an entire Templar war party and proselytize the least of their squires and take her on adventures with you? How completely fucked up is that person's life from now on? What is this actually going to do for your friendship?

What is the end game of Qud with the game still in early access? What happens to an all-powerful player-character who only has to fear getting caught flatfooted by chrome pyramids or surrounded by sludges? How do you settle down into a world built around violence and harsh faction politics? What do you DO with your infinite power to kill and alter the world? What SHOULD you do with it??

What does it mean to be Weird? Everyone in Qud is weird, radical body autonomy is one of the keywords of the game's design philosophy. I can play as a two-headed, four-armed talking fox-thing and Qud goes "hell yeah here's how that works mechanically for you" and everyone in the game looks at me and goes "yeah that's just another person really." What does it take for people in Qud to think of you as a monster? How do you DEAL with your physical appearance being a site of violence for the people around you?

I could have done a lot more with Annaface facing backlash for how she appears, but 1) this is a fanfiction and it's not my main creative focus, so I didn't want to burn myself out emotionally by going too deep in bad vibes town for it; and 2) Annaface has the special privilege of being the companion of one of the Main Characters. Which brings the other theme I wanted to get into, my favorite theme,

How Fucked Up it is for things like Main Characters to exist. How ontologically terrifying it is for a Main Character to enter the narrative, and how fucked up is it getting swept along with their narrative? What about a Qud stuck in a stalemate between several Main Characters?

We're finally at the Brambled Fae section, who is explicitly a collective of Main Characters who knows it is a Main Character. It is a universe-crossing, intentionally-and-textually-literal-self-insert-Mary-Sue-dimension-parasite that dominates even the narrative of other main characters when it's around. What happens to a fanfiction that gets infested by something like this? What happens to a person when they can save and reload and control multiple characters? What does that mean for the people around it, caught in its fiction?

And yeah wrt trans stuff, my reaction to Qud was "this game is fine" until I got to the Bey Lah questline, which introduces the keywords "trans" "deer" "taur" "lesbian" and the social exploration of basically all of those. The absolute shock that we have a game in tyool 2024 that has trans characters and themes and it's real and genuine and coming from a writer who actually knows what they're talking about and is putting it in out of a genuine desire to have that be part of the world in an earnest and organic way that doesn't feel forced or pandering or just putting the trans flag on some character's bedroom?

I mean, Qud is a game where you can go up to it and say "Hey, I actually want to play as a non-binary multiple system with 10 limbs" and Qud goes "sure, here's the mechanics for how that works, and here's other characters in the game who have the same kind of things you have going on"

For a game to take that, to take the "hey i feel weird in the real world, i want to be weird in a game" and go "yeah same buddy! here's a bunch of other weirdos, only they're basically normal in this universe, have fun"

I flirt with other games, but Morrowind has been the dominant focus for 20 years for me because it lets you just go out there and kind of live a fantasy life. But even then, Morrowind is steeped in the late 90s/early 00s cultural consciousness. It is weird, but it is a very specific kind of weird that doesn't leave a lot of room for acknowledging or being types of weird outside the weird the game wants. Vivec is nonbinary, but the game calls him a hermaphrodite (which, to be fair? in 2002? was a word without nearly as much overwhelming stigma as it has now), and he's the only one actually allowed to be enby. You're still a man or a woman in Morrowind. The weirdest you can get is a cat or a lizard, and you face actual prejudice for it and it's explored textually in plenty of ways, and it's, honestly, a very strong, realistic look at a colonized nation that itself commits acts of colonization and racial aggression and it's still very impressive! But it's intentionally a game that leaves very little space for you as a character, and forces you to carve your space out, and as time goes on I'm increasingly tired of having to fight for my space in a hostile world. The themes of Morrowind are becoming exhausting with legislation everywhere turning against transpeople, again. The themes of Morrowind wrt racism, colonization, and slavery are exhausting 20 years later where we're still seeing racial genocides and the world's reaction is "hmm, sure is a thing huh." It's exhausting being in a game that's so weird, but your weird is only accounted for Up To A Point.

Qud's weird is "yeah that's fine too" and that's just fantastic. I was really hoping there'd be more than 2 games in the past 20 years I could form an emotional connection with, but there we are, I guess! Fanfiction was inevitable at this point; Morrowind has had 20 years of modding to expand it out into something massive and make it the animal crossing with adventure game of my dreams. Qud's had less time baking in the oven at full heat? So. Fanfiction!

[willowsz-plants]

This is an appreciation post for someone who doesn’t think they’re amazing.

Ah, yes. Hello there. As you can tell from the title, the big large letters, this is an appreciation post! For my online mother, @rfswitchart.

Now, my relationship with RF started on my previous account, one of which got marked ‘explicit’ falsely. Me, her, and another one of our mutuals, her partner, actually, were talking through a little reblog. Now, me and RF have been mutuals for 6 MONTHS. And I already know how wonderful she is.

During our little reblog-chat, she did something on accident that she thought may have offended me. That’s whenever she DM’d me. She apologized for what she did, and said she wouldn’t do it again. Now, in my mind, this was the SWEETEST THING EVER. RF was automatically a treasured mutual. She didn’t have to apologize! But she did.

NOW! Moving on from that. That’s whenever RF started to chat more. We talked pretty frequently, also tagging eachother in little picrew things, etcetera.

Now. Here comes the fun part!

I remember one time she tagged me and a few other mutuals in a post about something in her fanfiction, how she was the only one of us to give Hunter a dog. I laughed about it because then, I wasn’t a writer. I said I was a bit too nervous to write, and she TOTALLY cheered me on, which she has with multiple others.

Now, it took me a LONG time to get out of my shell and start writing. I DM’d RF about it, asking what I should write. She said I should write about what I like, from the heart. That’s when I started my first fanfiction! RF was and is honestly my main inspiration! She’s always cheering me and others on, always encouraging us to do MORE. Get out of our comfort zones.

And I got SO much more love than I expected.

I remember getting my first bookmark on my fanfiction and CRYING. I was quite literally in tears of joy.

Props to RF for that.

Then, one fateful day, I got ballsy enough to ask her to be my beta reader. Her response?

‘Abso fucking lutely.’

I. Was. ECSTATIC. Especially that it was my biggest inspiration, being MY beta reader! I was shocked!

Ever since she started being my beta reader, my vocabulary AND writing has grown much better. I started getting better with writing longer things, and add DETAILS.

Yet again, props to RF.

Now. I made an appreciation post for a bunch of my mutuals! RF was who I wrote the most about, as I had the most to say about her.

She said she was about ready to adopt me as either a little sibling or a child. I said yes, as I have both mommy issues and daddy issues. She practically is a maternal figure now.

Now, we talk more in DM’s, we’ve traumabonded, we’ve shared stories, we’ve shared things that embarrass us (RF, when you see this, you’ll know what I’m talking about!), and multiple other things.

Also, RF helped me realize that I was bi-gender! She really told me to go with what I felt like, and not to let anybody effect that.

So? In conclusion, thank you, RF. Thank you for being a wonderful person to me and multiple others, being a great inspiration, and being a maternal figure to me. Thank you for being my found family.

You’re awesome. Don’t forget it!

[gwynne-fics]

admin note 2024-03-26

So, it's been a hot minute or so (besides accidentally posting fanart that doesn't belong ^^;) and last you heard from me, I'd just changed careers and started a new job. It is roughly two and a half years later and I've been promoted.

But that's not why I'm updating this blog.

If you're still hanging around on tumblr, you'll know that this isn't a stable platform. Unfortunately, it is the only place I have my writing, right now. I've decided to start archiving gwynne-fics onto AO3, which is much more stable.

In the last week I've moved Board Meetings, Holiday Meet Cute, Extra Whip, and Arranged. Please, go take a look, and drop a kudos if they once gave you some joy, even if it was over...ah...five years ago ^^;;;

Archiving is going to take me a few months and Undercover will probably be the last work I archive due to it being a beast.

As for writing and updating this space? It's a big maybe. You've heard me say in the past there are projects (TTAF, Silver Lining) I've always intended to finish and I'll be honest, that feeling is very much there. And I do work on them privately in between my new media obsessions. (I watch several Actual Play shows now and have written fanfiction for them).

Currently, I'm watching Queen of Tears. I didn't think I'd fall back into kdrama again but here I am. Anything is possible.

[m1d-45]

bird xiao…,,.,, birb,.,,,.,,, xiao birdie..,.,,,,,h, . .,during winter.,,,,.,,,

i like to think about reader with 4 arms often. (same placement as last time, secondary set right under the normal arms.)

more specifically, i like to think about being able to hold a plump little bird xiao in the palms of your secondary hands, while cupping your normal ones above him. roof. protect him from a cold breeze.

ah, what a joy it is to be a small warm finch, pecking at fresh almonds. all while cradled gently in the hands of your creator, your god.

you would sometimes lift your hands to peek at your little bird, to see him happily munching away on the almonds you bestowed upon him. he’d raise his head just enough to face you properly, perhaps to ask, “is there anything you need?” but you’d only reply the same as last time, “i just wanted to check on you.”

after a quiet minute of admiring a snow covered liyue, you noticed your companion hadn’t,, squirmed, in awhile.

your eyebrows furrowed slightly, unroofing the bird once more.

you found the almond crumbs were all gone, and xiao had his head tucked under his wing. seems all that eating tired him out. nap time :}

he awoke before long, ruffling his wings to find an obstruction- had he really slept til dark?

except when the darkness lifted, he was greeted by your smile once more. “hello again. did you have a nice nap?” he chirped sheepishly in response, shifting his wings as he sat up. oh, how embarrassing. he must’ve dozed off after those almonds. he had intended to check the area for possible dangers, just like yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that…

perhaps he should refrain from using this small form as he would others. nevertheless, something could’ve happened ! plus, falling asleep in the hands of a god such as yourself is surely a sin. let alone after he was given,, shelter, and food. he’ll definitely bring you a nice trinket tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that..

i got kind of carried away with this one. also, i’m pretty sure xiao is a finch? is some promotional plushes he was a teal finch. also also, i was wondering if i could have a name like the other anons? if i can, can i be owl🦉 anon? or maybe hoot..

littol xiao…..

and don’t worry about gettting carried away! this was sweet to read <3 and thanks for telling me about xiao’s official bird form! i’m not gonna listen to what mhy says because 1) cmon i write fanfiction 2) plushies are intended to be soft and round and squishable, which is not what all birds look like! also i couldn’t find the word finch anywhere (if you do let me know) and also also he’s still an adeptus, so i’ll hold firm that he doesn’t look 100% like any one species of bird

and yes, you can! there’s no like tiers to my anon list— welcome!

[kittyball23]

Prologue v1 - BroZone Flashback (a Trolls fanfic)

Summary: BroZone perform for an excited audience, debuting their little baby bro Branch for the first time

A/N: I am very excited about Trolls Band Together, and as I was writing a post about my predictions for how I think some scenes in the movie could happen, it ended up turning into a fanfiction! So anyway, enjoy if you read, I've got several ideas that I'm going to be writing oneshots for :D I have also cross-posted this Archive of Our Own, Fanfiction.net, and Wattpad.

The Trolls movies have so far started with prologues before we see the main characters. I'm going to kick things off with one version of that, featuring BroZone :)

__________________________________________

“Bro-Zone! Bro-Zone! Bro-Zone!”

The sound of the crowd chanting out the name of their band made four little Trollings fill with joy. This was what they lived for – singing, dancing, and sharing their talent with everyone. And so, without further ado, the quartet made their way out onto the mushroom stage, and the crowd went wild with claps and cheers. Not too long afterwards, the music started, and the four Trollings began to sing.

Taking the lead vocals was the aquamarine Troll John Dory, who wore a vest of the same color of his hair and a pair of sunglasses above his head all the time. With him were Spruce, Clay, and Floyd – purple, yellow, and magenta haired Trolls respectively who sang and danced alongside him. Those who knew them knew that the four of them were great friends, and that was a good thing, given that they were also all brothers. Everyone in the crowd clapped and sang along with them, knowing very well the lyrics of the song.

“Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk.

I'm a dancin’ man, no time to talk

Music loud and women warm, we’ve been kicked around

Since we were born,

And now it's alright, it's okay,

And you may look the other way,

We can try to understand,

The New York Times' effect on man,

Whether you're a brother or whether you're a mother

You're stayin' alive, stayin' alive,

Feel the city breakin' and everybody shakin'

And we're stayin' alive, stayin' alive,

Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive, stayin' alive

Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' aliiiIIIIIiiiiiIIIve!

Yeah we’re stayin’ alive!”

Suddenly, John Dory stepped up to the front of the stage and bent down, clapping hands with some of the nearby fans who stretched up to him. “Ladies and gentletrolls!” he announced. “We wanna introduce to you another little bro to our band!” He ran back up the stage to join his other brothers as they danced some more and continued. “You know him! Okay, well, maybe you don’t know him yet, but you’ll love him! Please, give a warm welcome to the small, the cute, Baaaaaby Braaaanch!”

In a skilled move, John Dory and Clay stepped aside to reveal a small, bopping blue baby Troll with round white glasses. He hip-hopped with his small feet and struck more than enough cute poses to make nearly all the girls faint. He was a huge star already – and he wasn’t even old enough to sing yet!

Pleased by the positive reaction of the crowd, the brothers continued to perform, making sure that each of them had enough time in the spotlight and an equal chance to sing. The crowd roared with glee by the time that the song had finished and they struck their final, signature pose with an exclamation of “Bro-Time!”

Bowing and giving their thanks, the Trollings dismounted the stage and huddled together in a quick group hug.

“We nailed it!” JD exclaimed, beaming. “What did I tell you? I knew that show was going to be our best one yet!”

“You say that about every show we do, JD,” Spruce pointed out.

“Lighten up, Spruce!” Clay piped up. “Every show is the best show if it’s done with you guys!”

“He’s right,” Floyd agreed. “It really is something great to be singing with my bros,” he said. Then, suddenly, the brothers saw him tear up, and knew where this was heading.

“Uh-oh,” John Dory mumbled.

“Here he goes again,” Spruce muttered.

“The waterworks are coming!” Clay said, right as tears spilled out of Floyd’s eyes.

“I’m sorry,” the magenta Trolling whimpered, “I just love you guys so much!”

“Yeah, well,” John Dory said, “while you’ll never see me get all blubbery about it, I love you guys, too,” he admitted to them. Then he put his hand in the middle. “Bros forever?” he asked.

Spruce, Clay, and Floyd immediately understood and placed their hands in the middle, too. Baby Branch, giggling and following his older brothers’ lead, also placed his hand in the middle with theirs and happily swung it up in the air. “Bros forever!” they cried.

They knew that nothing, not ever, would tear them apart.

[dynamic-k]

Me me has a quetions :3 when did you start writing and where do your ideas come from?

-BK

Ooh, that's a tough one.

Hmm. Well, I know I started getting a like for writing in the 3rd grade. I'd done some random school two-paragraph assignment and Mrs. Meusen, my lovely teacher whom I still remember to this day, had returned everyone's papers with our grades.

And she liked to write custom messages along with the overall score and stars.

She told me in her little markered note at the top of my paper, that my writing was well structured and I make a good author. Something like that, I don't remember exactly how it was phrased, but it was a compliment to my writing.

I have no memory of what I wrote, though. It wasn't significant.

That was probably the first jump-start encouragement I got, though how it affected me in the future was probably subconscious for the most part. It's not the driving force that I remember on a regular basis as "Ah, yes, this event here is what started it all."

That long ago compliment just came to mind when I really started thinking about what the answer to your inquiry was.

My ideas just spawned into existence from my imagination. I was always the kid that found immense joy in reading books and also staring off into space. The wall. The ceiling. Out a window.

I once got lost in space during my 2nd grade Spanish class, while we were doing TESTS.

And I was lost in space, not really looking at what I was looking at... Well, I was apparently looking at someone else's test, lol. Got scolded. XD

My dreams were often the source of cool ideas also. I had entire MOVIES worth of action and everything. Sleeping was always a well anticipated privilege...

I wonder why. 👉👈

I remember my very first fanfiction was written for a comic series, Mega Man by Ian Flynn.

Cool robots, action, adventure, fights, suspense, a whole assortment of my favorite types of things to enjoy from any media, be it novel, comic, or movie.

It was... really bad. My family tells me it was good for my age at the time. The ONE friend I randomly decided to share the old google Docs with also gives me positive feedback, but... ehhhhhh.

There's reasons I haven't continued it further for years. It was pretty bad, in my eyes. I definitely had so much fun writing it though. It was a self-insert, sort of? But with an OC that had cool characteristics I just liked. Not really me, but a character that was an amalgamation of ninja skills, smarts, and powers. And was very much, as the term goes [that I would learn about just a few years later], a "Mary Sue". An overpowered character.

At least, my character still had a plethora of issues, and as the story progressed, I found ways to insert Nora [the aforementioned OC] into problems and lessen the overpowered aspects a bit.

I learned from that work. A lot.

I guess, if anyone is really interested, I can post the links to the old docs. I don't suppose I mind all that much, though I'm warning you all. I ATTEMPTED ROMANCE.

AND IF YOU ALL KNOW ME AND MY CURRENT HABITS... YOU KNOW I SAY ON A REGULAR BASIS THAT I CAN'T WRITE ROMANCE.

It was written by 13-year-old Scarlett. She doesn't exist anymore.

I think I somehow got off topic, why am I talking about my first fanfic...

Anyway!

I wrote a lot of other stories also.

I had originals.

I had fanfics. [My hyperfixation on Beyblade Metal Fusion remains dormant to this day, but I still remember all the ideas I never wrote down yet]

I had dreams that I attempted to normalize and remove dream-weirdness from for story material.

I had school assignments that were fairly tame as far as action, but I kept the docs anyway.

And then I tried to publish stuff.

[By this, I mean, on the Archive. I had technically posted fanfiction before on fanfiction.net but we don't talk about those abominations...]

I was in a Lego Monkie Kid hyperfixation at the time, and was currently on the cliffhanger of season 4. [Before the special came out, I mean.]

And I had a very very vivid dream scenario one night, where my brain decided to imagination its own ending and wrapped up plot for the cliffhanger of season 4.

I decided to post it. And I still have more ideas that I have yet to sort out and add more chapters to the fic, but that was the first published work on the Archive, I think.

And... it was romantic focused, actually. The one OC was a character that fit well into the series, and wasn't just an annoying rendition of overpowered characteristics. (I TELL YOU. I LEARNED FROM "NORA")

And, well, my dreams are good at imaginating romantic scenes. It's just my brain doesn't know how to make it sound good with words yet.

I'll get there... 😅

To get back to the point I seem to keep deviating from as I reminisce over older works and my author journey as a whole: I have come very far.

My first Alan Becker fanfic, was A Second's Tale. Which, until Super Sticks appeared, remained my most popular fic.

It started so SO simply. All I knew was, "NEW HYPERFIXATION GO BRRR!" and "I wanna write a fanfic and post it"

Then it escalated.

The AVA/AVM fandom is still my all-time favorite, and I think it's honestly going to stay that way forever. It's definitely the longest fixation I've ever had.

All my others are dormant, or active in spurts. I have a list of like, 60? 65? fandoms I'm into, lol.

Uhm, anyways, yeah.

That's the summary.

Man, that's another thing I suck at. Summarization.

Look at this long schpiel of words!!

No one gonna read this. XD

TL;DR

I have come far from the 3rd grade.

I still aim to make a difference. Make someone's day with my weird unique sense of humor. Make others inspired. ;]

And my imagination go brrrr for ideas. Dreams are just the best thing ever.

Thanks for coming to my ted talk--

[artificialqueens]

🏳️‍🌈 You Call My Name, What a Strange Magic (Halldoll) - Mar

A/N: Day 28 of Mayhem: Farmer’s Market

Nicky’s magic flows like rivers in her veins, calm and constant.The way Jaida says her name is a tidal wave that lifts her off the ground and sends her heart spinning.Strange, strange magic.

Tags for @duckprintspress: rpdr fanfiction, may trope mayhem, jaida essence hall, nicky doll, jaida x nicky, magic au

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/47698924

______________________________________________________________________

The witch sprays the budding flowers with river water, and they gratefully unfurl their petals. They sway in their pots, gleaming under the sun and grabbing the attention of every passerby in the farmer’s market. They are Nicky’s pride and joy.

An older gentleman leans down and adjusts his glasses to see them better.

“How much for a flower?”

“A childhood dream, or a poem to a lover.”

“Ah, when I was little I wanted to be a train. Not a train conductor, mind you– the whole thing!”

“Really?” Nicky says fascinated, jotting it all down in ink, blotting the page with how fast she is writing. Stupid witch protocols and their aversion to pens.

“Yes,” the man says with a smile as he looks far into the distance. His memories float in thick purple clouds from his mouth to Nicky’s pen. “I wanted to travel long distances and bring people to their loved ones, and I wanted those loved ones to chase after me as I pulled out of the station, waving goodbye until we were just a spot in the distance.”

“That was a good dream,” Nicky says, smiling brightly at the gentleman. She sets down the last dot after the words and the ink glimmers in the paper before settling down. She picks carefully between her flowers, and finds the perfect one for this man. “Here, take it home. Tell it all your worries in the morning, and all your glories at night. It will take it all, good and bad, and it will grow.”

“Bless you,” says the man. He tips his hat goodbye.

A teen shows up not long after, hair dyed the same color as the only flower left. They wave at the flower and the flower waves its leaves.

“Hi! Is this cutie for sale?” says the teen, swaying to the rhythm of the flower.

“Yes, and it looks like it likes you,” Nicky says with pleasure. She only sends her flowers to the best homes.

“I like you too,” the teen says to the flower. “How much?”

“A childhood dream, or a poem to a lover.”

“Oh, man, I’m not much of a poet… and I don’t remember my childhood. Do you take, like, any coin? Like silver or bronze? Crypto?”

Nicky sighs. The exchange rates are brutal, but so many humans insist on using money.

“I can leave it at twenty dollars, plus the warmth of the sun in your face.”

“Deal!”

The teen ruffles through their backpack and puts two crumpled ten dollar bills in Nickys hands, plus some loose candy they find, as a tip. Nicky beckons them closer. She holds their cheeks, chants the words, and watches their cheeks go from rosy to pale, their lips from pink to blue.

“T-that’s c-c-colder than I th-thought,” they say through chattering teeth.

“It goes back to normal in just a few moments, I promise,” Nicky reassures them with a twinge of pity. She gets a stone out of a thermo box and holds it tightly between her hands. The stone absorbs all the warmth. “Stay in the sun for some minutes, and I always recommend a hot coffee,” she says, pointing to the coffee cart at the end of the aisle. “If you tell the girl that the witch sent you, you’ll get a discount,” she winks.

“Sick, thanks,” says the teen, already looking less blue.

They pick up the flower with great care, and they are off.

With the very last of her flowers sold, Nicky begins to clear out her stand. It is so early that she can take a turn around the whole market and be home by sundown. She needs herbs, honey, and questions voiced by children, and she needs time to gather enough courage to visit the coffee cart.

Some days, she has to avoid it entirely and leave the market through the other side. Some days, when she gets close to it, her heart beats loud as a battle drum and all of the squirrels around the park climb down from the trees, hypnotized, and march in a long row after Nicky, scaring the shoppers. Nicky has been told before that, if she can’t get a hold of her powers, they won’t let her rent the stand anymore.

She feels more confident today, however, languid and weakened from the new moon, and her magic is easier to constrain. She takes her sweet time shopping around and not a single squirrel joins her. She takes the offered samples and pretends to eye the products that may be knit blankets or clay pots or wooden toys for all she knows. The coffee cart holds all of her attention.

Nicky steadies her breaths and her magic flows calmly through her veins, constant as a river. There are some people chatting in front of the cart, waiting for their orders, enveloped in the condensation their words form in the cold. It blends with the steam from their coffees, warm as the smile of the girl who’s passing them out. Nicky’s chest burns like a small sun.

The cart is painted a neat white that stands out among the wooden market stalls, and the name is written on the front in elegant cursive letters that Nicky has found herself copying in the margins of her potions books.

Essence

Nicky walks up and the owner welcomes her yelling.

“Nickay!” Jaida screams, twisting the last vowel of her name until it becomes an entirely new sound.

Multilingualism and verbal spells have made Nicky particularly sensitive to sounds. In her second year at the witch academy, one of her classmates tried to bring a chair closer with the accedo spell, but she accidentally said accendo and lit the whole thing on fire. Nothing like watching someone get their eyebrows burned off to learn the importance of phonetics.

When Jaida pronounces her name in that unique way, it’s like Nicky has an entirely new name that belongs to Jaida alone. It feels like a type of magic. That would certainly explain the radiant happiness that manifests in Nicky’s heart at such a simple word. She tampers it down and tries to sound casual.

“Ça va, Jaida? Easy day?”

“Slow day,” Jaida sighs in a low voice, just for Nicky. “I’m dying of boredom out here. Nothing but cappuccinos all day, a girl can only do so many cappuccinos, Nicky! Look at this,” she says, putting a bag of marshmallows in Nicky’s face. “I got these to make hot chocolates, and I haven’t made a single one,” she pouts, making Nicky melt.

“Well, but now you have them for tomorrow, right?”

“I’ve already downed half the bag. You want one?”

Nicky laughs and accepts a marshmallow out of politeness, immediately regretting it when her fingers get all sticky. By the time she finishes it, masking her disgust, Jaida has eaten three more.

“Alright, enough,” Jaida scolds herself with her mouth full, putting the bag away. “What about you? You done already?”

Nicky nods.

“The flowers sell very quickly. I almost cannot keep up.”

“How long does it take to grow them?”

“It takes some weeks. They grow faster in the winter, because I leave the sprouts by the fireplace and they love that. They’re inside plants, you know? They want to be cozy and hear people talk around them. The hard part is that I have to spend so much time inside with them, because they don’t grow if they don’t hear human voices.”

“Girl, leave them with me for a day, I’ll give them back six feet tall. Ain’t nobody quiet in my house.”

“Don’t offer twice, I would love to drop them off somewhere and have a free day.”

“Is there any money in the flower nanny business?”

“Jaida’s daycare for magical flowers?”

“Jaida’s kinder-garden!”

Nicky lets out an undignified snort at the joke which she covers by coughing.

Jaida smiles and leans on her elbows on the counter, closer to Nicky.

“So like, do the flowers speak any language?”

“They should understand every human language, in theory, but I haven’t tested them a lot. I’ve only tried French, English, Latin, Greek, Darija, and ehh, Catalan… and some Spanish.”

“Oh, only those. Pretty shoddy scientific work, Nicky. That will never pass the board.”

“Well, luckily, the board is just me.”

“Paper written by Nicky for Nicky, peer reviewed by Nicky from the Nicky council of Nickys.”

It’s so silly, but Jaida’s voice makes Nicky giggle the more she talks, and she has to rein it in before she attracts another flock of common loons. They’re not even native to the area, but it has happened before. Jaida made a stupid pun and a murmuration of birds obscured the sky, swirling over Nicky’s head and mimicking her laughter. The flock followed her all the way home. They wreaked havoc on her garden.

“Oh, I was gonna ask,” Jaida says, “do you have any more of that cream you gave me for joint pain? It’s so good, I finished the sample already.”

“Did it help?” Nicky says with a luminous smile.

The cart’s light bulbs over their heads shine dangerously bright in a spike of electricity. Jaida looks at them with worry, but Nicky hides her teeth and the light goes back to normal.

“I better unplug these for a minute,” Jaida says.

The cart gets a little dimmer, though still warm in the gray evening. Nicky leans on the counter like Jaida to see her better.

“What was I telling you…” Jaida asks, squinting her eyes. “The cream, yeah. Yes, it was crazy good. I swear that every winter brings some new ache, and this year it was my knuckles’ turn.”

She flexes her fingers with a pained expression, and Nicky already knows how she’ll be spending her evenings the next few days.

“I can make more by Wednesday,” Nicky says.

Monday, if I don’t sleep.

“Really? You’re incredible!”

Her aching hands take Nicky’s with no warning. Thank God Jaida unplugged the lights, or the glass bulbs would have exploded over them. She’s pretty sure the streetlights are getting brighter.

“Of course,” Nicky says, clearing her throat.

She takes back her hands and rubs one over her heart in circles. Counterclockwise, like she was taught, like she does with scared wild animals or sick babies who enter her hut crying in their mothers’ arms, needing to be soothed before they can be healed.

She needs to soothe herself before she can make the offer.

“If you want,” she says when her heartbeat settles down, “I can do a quick lay-on-hands. It’s not as good as the cream, but it lasts almost a day.”

“Really?” Jaida says excitedly. “What’s that, like a massage?”

“Something like it, yes.”

Nicky sets her hands on the counter with the palms up in invitation. Jaida gives her hand with unquestioned trust, and Nicky is so grateful for the complete ease that has marked all of their interactions since they first met. Many humans are wary of her, and some brave souls have even tried to attack her, but not Jaida. Since the very first day, she has only shown curiosity and admiration for Nicky’s craft. Nicky treasures that trust, and repays it whenever she can. Like now.

“Where does it hurt the most?”

“The knuckles, mostly. My wrists kind of crack at night, like a little old lady’s.”

“Okay, relax your hand,” Nicky instructs. Jaida lets her hand rest entirely on hers.

Nicky presses her thumbs on Jaida’s wrist. She closes her eyes. For the first time since she approached Jaida’s cart, she sets her magic free.

It flows from the depths of her mind to her throat, piling incantations on her tongue that she has to swallow down, because it is not the time for words. The magic moves down her arms, burning pleasantly in her palms, and finally reaches her thumbs. When it brushes Jaida’s skin, it recoils.

“This is where the problem is,” Nicky says as she opens her eyes and digs her thumb in the middle of Jaida’s wrists, right on her pulse. It picks up under Nicky’s touch. Jaida must be excited to watch the whole process; she has always shown herself fascinated with magic. “Your body has its own healing energy that flows through your veins. There is something blocking it here,” she runs her thumb over the wrist, “which is why your hand is not curing– healing, I mean. Relax again.”

With some effort, Nicky makes her magic seep through Jaida’s skin. Two paint strokes of radiant blue flow from her thumbs into Jaida’s bloodstream, and although they bump against the blockage, Nicky pushes through and they both see how the magic traces blue rivers down Jaida’s hand and fingers. The beautiful blue glows a dazzling white for a second, and then it is over.

“Can you move your fingers?” Nicky asks in a gentle voice.

Jaida flexes her fingers one by one, entranced.

“That’s wild…” Jaida says, a little breathless. “It doesn’t even hurt, you– you are incredible.”

“It’s just a mid-level transmutation,” Nicky says, trying with all her might to keep her cheeks from turning pink. “Any witch can do that.”

“Are you fucking with me? Nicky, you made literal magic. Let me be impressed,” Jaida urges, squeezing Nicky’s hand.

The gesture could trigger a reaction if Nicky wasn’t entirely captivated by the way Jaida is looking at her. That too, Nicky has learned over time, is its own type of magic.

“Do you want to give me your other hand?” Nicky says, just to have something to say.

Jaida nods and only looks away from Nicky’s eyes to watch the blue rivers form under her skin again.

“Are you gonna let me pay you this time?” Jaida says when they are done and she can flex her fingers painlessly.

Nicky refused to charge her for the cream, using the excuse that it was a sample. Samples don’t usually last for a month, but oh well. Nicky never claimed to be a business woman.

“No, we never charge for this.” When she sees that Jaida is about to argue, she adds: “It is bad luck to heal for money.”

Jaida squints her eyes.

“I don’t believe you.”

“It is bad luck to lie,” Nicky says, biting her tongue.

“You’re just saying whatever, now,” Jaida says, and pushes Nicky’s shoulder. A hard feat, with the counter between them, but Nicky still lets herself be moved by Jaida’s force.

Nicky would like to stay there until the sun sets and the last of the stands is cleared, but she has plants back home waiting for their bedtime story, and ingredients to gather and macerate in oil if she wants to get that cream done in time.

In spite of Nicky’s protests, Jaida sends her home with a tall cup of free coffee made exactly to her taste and a honey-apple roll so fragrant that it fills Nicky’s house with its scent when she leaves it half eaten on her kitchen table. The sweetness and warmth of the drink pools in Nicky’s stomach, and every step home feels like she’s walking on air. For a short second, Nicky wonders if Jaida is hiding powers of her own. But Nicky understands her own heart too well. She knows what is happening, and she knows what kind of magic it is.

The flowers grow heart shaped leaves and pink petals that night, dulcified by the honey in Nicky’s voice. When she takes them to the market on Monday, they are all gone in an hour. Nicky sets one aside, and takes the flower and a tub of healing cream to the cart at the end of the aisle.

Pride Challenge Points: 385