#bc i almost exclusively write in the past tense

[sapphicscholar]

what's your favourite tense to write in, what's your favourite type of cereal, what's your favourite type of hold (rocking climbing to be clear lol)

Ooh these are SUCH fun questions, anon!

1) I used to write almost exclusively in past tense for fiction, but after spending more time in fic world I began venturing into the present tense a lot more and really enjoy it. I think they’re both helpful for different kinds of scenes, but there’s a level of immediacy to the present tense that I think is particularly fitting for doing any kind of really tight one character POV/deep dive into a character’s thoughts/feelings

2) okay cereal is one of my very favorite foods, so this is a hard one! The one with the nostalgia factor is Waffle Crisp, which has apparently been un-discontinued?? I haven’t had it since I was maybe 13 (and back then I could only get something that sugary if I had a friend coming over for a sleepover), but now might be my moment! These days though it’s Peanut Butter Puffins bc I’ve grown up and actually can’t deal with that much sugar or corn syrup or whatever

3) I feel like I’d really be abandoning my sense of self if I didn’t take the opportunity to make the joke about jugs being my favorite holds…. But also I ended up going through some videos I’ve taken of my climbs and ranking the ones I could get clean-ish shots of with emojis (not pictured: crimps and ledges - I’ll take the former over the latter any day!)

(That blue style is honestly the death of me.)

I can deal with the tiniest little finger holds that tear up your fingertips, but somehow the giant ones have me at a loss every time.

[hallospaceboyy]

i love your stories and i was wondering if you could write a zelda x reader one where they had a huge fight bc of a misunderstanding and the reader left greendale but now returns because Hilda invited her and she walks in on Faustus and Zelda flirting and later the reader is all cold and sarcastic and it ends with tooth rotting fluff? ♡

Bitter Memories

I combined two for this one, as they are similar, so this is also for the long lost lovers request that was sent to me, hope you don't mind! Gif not mine x

You and Zelda had drifted in and out of each other’s lives for years, a couple of centuries at least, had participated in multiple affairs - steamy, heated affairs, and soon became fond of one another, good friends as well as lovers. But, as often happens in people's lives, especially people who live for hundreds of years, you had soon gone your separate ways. You had said goodbye to Zelda, as much as it pained you, moved to England to join another coven. The decision to leave had been due to Zelda, mostly. Although affectionate when together, to an extent, Zelda had always been closed off to you, she sought you out, but only for sex, and you had grown fed up with Zelda's need to hide her feelings for you – or perhaps there really were no feelings there at all. It had always been hard to tell. You began picking fights with Zelda incessantly, and finally you told her that you had to leave. She had confessed to you that she had taken many other lovers while seeing you, and although you were never exclusive, you wish she had told you, felt hurt that you clearly weren’t enough for the witch, if she felt the compulsion to be with others.

Now, you find yourself back in Greendale. Your coven had dwindled to nothing, and although gone for 50 years, you had thought of Zelda every day. Hilda had called you, asked you to come and visit. You had always been close to the younger sister, you’re close to her in age, had been best friends as children. Which is why you now stand on the Spellman's porch, your hands shaking as you knock. You aren’t sure you’re ready to see Zelda again, even after so long. You had tried to fill the hole she had left with meaningless trysts, but no one had ever come close to Zelda, had never cared for someone as you cared for her. You're pulled from your thoughts when the door swings open, and Hilda stands there beaming. She pulls you into her arms, squeezes you tight and sniffles.

“Oh Y/N! I’ve missed you love!” You feel tears in your own eyes as Hilda pulls away to look at you with sparkling blue eyes.

“I’ve missed you too Hilda. I'm so glad you called!” You glance past her when you hear hushed voices from the parlour, and Hilda clears her throat nervously. “I’m guessing she’s here?” Hilda nods meekly.

“Um, I may have... not told her you’re coming.” Hilda smiles nervously, twiddling her fingers, and you roll your eyes.

“Right. Well, might as well get this over with.”

“Oh, well actually she’s got-" You brush past her and stride into the parlour, trying to convey a confidence in your posture that you certainly don’t feel. You stop in your tracks when you see her, pressed up against Faustus Blackwood of all people. He has an arm at her waist, and his face is so close to hers, and you can feel the anger already rolling off of you. You'd always hated this man. Slimy, cocky Faustus, with his eyes always settled on Zelda, ogling her.

“Faustus, we can’t do this he-" You clear your throat to announce your presence, and Zelda spins around to face you, her soft red curls brush Faustus' face as she whips her head around, but she steps away from him, pushing his hand from her waist. “Y/N!” Her eyes are wide with shock, and she looks almost as if she’s going to cry. “Wh-What are you doing here?”

“If you don't mind, Faustus, I'd like a word with Zelda.” Your voice is level, unfeeling, and your eyes never leave Zelda's but you can see Faustus scowl at you even so.

“Faustus was just leaving.” Zelda replies, and with a shake of his head and a swing of his cane, the man departs, mumbling inaudibly.

A heavy silence hangs in the air, and you can hear Zelda swallow thickly, watch her as she strides to a table and pours you both a generous helping of whiskey into crystal tumblers. The redhead holds one out to you and you take it, your breath hitching when your fingers brush hers.

“I've missed you.” Zelda's eyes are soft, a deep affection there, and you stare back at her coldly.

“Yes, it certainly seemed so, pressed against Faustus. You must be so torn up.” You sigh, taking a long sip of your drink, savouring the burn in your throat. “How long did it take you to jump into his arms, his bed? A day? A month? A year?” Your tone is harsh, and Zelda flinches; then her posture straightens, her face hardens, as if your words had not slapped her.

“You left. For half a century. Was I supposed to remain chaste in the pretence of your return? You ran away.” She's shaking with anger, but her eyes are watering. Her fist is clenched at her side, and the other is holding the glass so tightly you wouldn’t be surprised if it shatters in her palm.

“Maybe I was tired of being one of your many toys.” You spit, and then you slam your glass down, turning to leave.

Zelda speaks so softly, you’re surprised you heard her, but you turn at the words anyway. “I'm sorry.”

Your lips stay set in a grim line, waiting for her to continue, and she does, after a deep inhalation.

“I knew that you took no other lovers during the times we were together. I knew what that meant. That you loved me. It frightened me.” She lowers herself to the sofa, and you edge toward her and sit beside her, careful to leave a substantial gap between you. “It frightened me, and I felt things I wasn’t sure I wanted to feel. So I sought other people. Tried to drown it out. Of course it didn’t work, and I lost you in the process.” Her whole body is tense, and she’s fidgeting with her hands in her lap. You hesitate, but then rest a hand over hers, stilling them, and her green eyes glance up to meet yours.

“Did you love me?” You whisper, your vision blurred by tears.

“Yes.”

You raise your other hand to cup her cheek, and her eyes drift closed, leaning into your touch. Then you surge forwards, and you press your lips to hers softly, tentatively, almost shy despite the history you share. She whimpers and kisses you back, her shaking hands land at your waist and tug you closer, pressing herself against you.

“I still do,” She whispers as she pulls away, her red lips brushing yours tenderly, her hot breath tickling you.

“There's not a day that I haven’t thought about you, Zelda.” Tears are streaming down your cheeks now, Zelda’s too, and you both laugh at the softness of the situation, so unlike anything you had ever shared before, and of relief, that you have found each other again.

“Let's start over. Stay, please?” She looks so scared then, so vulnerable, and you peck her lips, smiling. “I have a niece now, Sabrina. E-Edward passed, and she's with us now. I would love for you to meet her.”

“I'm so sorry, Zelds...” You stroke her cheek, sighing. “Of course I’m staying. I'm not going anywhere. I’ve missed you all. But I don’t want to start again.” Her face falls for a second, and you kiss the frown away that pulls at her brow. “I don’t want to start over, because I won't dismiss what we had together, what we shared. It was good. The happiest times of my life, being with you, despite how it ended.”

The redhead sighs in relief, and she smiles. “I love you.”

“I love you more, Zeldie. Now, I need food. I haven’t tasted Hilda's cooking in far too long.” Zelda chuckles, and lets you drag her to the kitchen.

[ziracona]

I know you mentioned that Bill wasn't included in ILM because you didn't know much about his personality. Out of curiosity though, if you had included him in the fic, how would you have integrated his history of being in the middle of a zombie apocalypse that couldn't have happened for the other characters? Or like, what approach would you have gone with?

Oh this is kind of a tough one! I don’t know Bill well, because I haven’t played Left 4 Dead, but that actually wasn’t why he isn’t in the fic. I stopped including survivors after Jane Romero, because DbD updates so much that I hit a point it was either add more characters but know you won’t have time to develop them and give them the character arcs they deserve because you’re nearing the end, or stop adding people, and it’s always better to whole-ass less then half-ass more—especially with characters that are awesome and really deserve some due diligence. While Bill is actually one of the earliest survivors released for DbD (he was...siiixth or something? Like right after Ace? Or Nea?), that’s only for PC. On PS4 and Xbox, he wasn’t added until much later, and I play DbD on PS4. So, for me as a player, Bill wasn’t actually released until after Ash was. When I started writing, I was kind of vaguely aware he existed on PC? But I had 0 personal experience with him, and so I went with my own/console experience when it came to writing.

As for what I’d have done, that’s a dang good question, and I’m not entirely sure— I’d definitely have thought about it longer if I had included him, but I’ll give you what I think I would have done? Obviously, Bill’s not from the world the rest of the survivors are. While almost any of the stories can coexist with minimal changes (NOES 2010, Halloween, Stranger Things, even Ash are more or less fairly easily compatible), zombie apocalypse—couple things I know they’re bound to notice, ya know? Still, I stand by multiverse being both unnecessary and not the best decision for the story I want to tell, so what I think I’d have done is this: (under the cut bc it’s gonna be long af--get ready for some quantum theory lol)

Okay, so the Entity canonically can operate outside of natural time. Meaning it can take survivors from earlier or later, and isn’t on the same space-time fixed relationship the world is. Now, time travel is tricky. Or anything with a complex portrayal of time. But there are three basic setups for time travel potential that actually make sense. They are as follows:

Anything that will happen, has happened (or the Artemis Fowl timetheory). This one is pretty straightforward. Sure, you can travel through time, but the universe you live in right now where you are choosing to go back is the result of the past you caused. The change you’re causing is past-tense already, and the only real agency you have is in causing the circumstances leading up to where you already are. This still allows for some fancy manuvering (for example: want to save a friend’s life? No problem. You can’t remove the motivation to go back, so you in the past still have to believe they die, but so long as you didn’t like, hold their severed head—if it’s a situation like say, you saw them blow up, you can save that person—you just have to make sure your past self still sees them “die” in the explosion and thus chooses, as you did/are, to go back.) This is my personal least favorite theory of space-time, but it’s a solid one.

The second is the The Future is not Set (or the Back to the Future timetheory). This one says time is flexible. You can go back and kill your father before you’re born, and the future will change. How ripple effects happen are varried—for example in strict timeline variations of this theory such as those in Frequency or Back to the Future, if you cause yourself not to be born, time will catch up with you, and while the impact you left on the world remains, you, as you no longer are born, will vanish from existence as the time stream corrects itself. However, more lenient time streams such as the versions in Continuum or Futurama exist as well, where even if your effects on the world prevent you from being born, the version of you currently alive continues to exist as an anomaly. This is by far, in my opinion, the most enjoyable solid timetheory.

And last (unless you count Time Travel is Impossible as a solid theory which I guess technically you can??), theory three (or the Doctor Who timetheory). This theory portrays time as possible to change and allowing for alternatives to be taken, but not in all places and ways. It presents very hard limits on what can change, and offers a much more inflexible time continuum than theory 2, as well as much higher consequences for causing alterations. Rather than direct cause-effect consequences, like vanishing because you caused yourself not to be born, usually the result of tampering and causing a change of large size is that you will create time paradoxes, which the time stream itself desperately will try to destroy/fix, usually horribly and with massive and brutal force. Things like Life is Strange fall into this theory as well, with Dr. Who being on the lenient end of this spectrum and LIS the strict. It offers the technicality of a changeable future, but none of the true and almost wild freedom offered by variations of theory 2. Basically, any large scale or personal change you cause will rip holes in the universe, and either you will give in to fate and re-allow the loved one you saved to die, or you push on through and accept massive time-space damage and casualties for the choice. I’ve got mixed feelings on this one myself, as I’ve seen it handled super well and made a thing that can be fun, but it also is the theory that pisses me off the most when written poorly haha.

Anyway, massive time theory talk over, in Dead by Daylight, the Entity can traverse time canonically. In ILM, the survivors only talk briefly, after meeting Jane, about theories for how that works, but here is what I would say if ILM had included Bill. To preface, there are two timelines that each follow the same set of basic rules, but have a little freedom in how they effect each other (not so much in how they effect themselves): the Survivor’s world/reality timeline, and the Entity’s pocket dimension timeline. Neither timeline can contradict itself and create paradoxes within its own space. So. Bill is from the same universe as anyone else. At one point, the early 2000s followed the narrative of Left 4 Dead, and the Entity grabbed Bill where & when he “dies” in canon. Only, some time after grabbing Bill, the Entity took another person which (completely unintentionally on the Entity’s part) triggered a massive Buttery Effect on the world, and greatly altered reality, causing not only the Left 4 Dead apocalypse to no longer occur, but causing Bill himself to never be born. Bill however was already outside of the world and in the Entity’s pocket dimension at the time, and thus was not there to be “erased” and exists as an anomaly. While he is paradoxical in his own world, he does not at all contradict the Entity’s established timeline—he adheres to it. While the memory of survivors is effected and updated by changes made in reality by the Entity, because there is no version of “Bill” in the world anymore, he did not have his memories altered (there was no “Bill” for the timestream to update at all, as he is entirely an anomaly now, so it would have no reason to try). The world they exist in has a time continuum that operates off a variation somewhere between theory 3 and theory 2 (the future is not set, but also there are fix points—however, these almost exclusively exist in regard to one’s own past. The big rule is that personally making the act of altering your own past intentionally by nature also alters your motivations for acting in the first place, and thus negates the possibility of you doing so. While you can change other people’s pasts, or accidentally effect your own, you physically cannot change your own intentionally, because you’d create either a paradox or a time loop, and it would rip you apart).

Dwight is more or less correct when he hypothesizes that they might have all remembered a world with Jane Romero still in it until an hour ago. However, all of ILM itself is that version of time/reality (ie the “last” or “final” version, as it were/the version that came into being when Jane was taken). Her loss butterfly affect updated people, and so they remember her being missing. While the Entity could hypothetically someday accidentally do things that make it so survivors aren’t born in the external reality, it cannot do so intentionally or accidentally-on-purpose, because it is bound by the rules of its own personal history/timeline, and it can neither intentionally nor accidentally do a damn thing to prevent what has transpired inside itself from happening. Similarly, since the survivors are established as existing inside it, even if they were erased at birth, they would still exit it intact in November of 2019 with all their memories. The Entity thus has no real way to hurt them even in revenge, unless it is willing to risk taking them again from a later point in time. Most small decisions do not have buttery effects that are very large at all, and in general time attempts to smooth out with the least possible changes. What happened to Bill was a one in a billion fortunate/unfortunate chance thing, and was such an unlikely thing to happen in the first place, the chances of a thing like it happening again are astronomically small, and almost completely certainly would not to occur. In some ways it would be nice for him though, because he could escape back to a peaceful reality where many people he lost are still happy & living. While they don’t remember him, people would still have the echos of their past inside them (feelings of deja vu, memories in dreams, attachment and familiarity with people you never “met”) and he could reconnect with them if he wanted and live happily with old Left 4 Dead crew and his new survivor family. : )

[theshinsun]

brace urself, this is for the writing meta ask: 2, 6, 7, 14, 17, 19, 20 (if you need a direction for this... I always wanted to hear more about Bring Me Roses), 21, 22, and 24 bc i'm nosy and still very into your craft. thank you buddy!!

2. Tell us about what you’re most looking forward to writing – in your current project, or a future project

I'm so excited/terrified to finally start my knb college AU. I've been sitting on this idea for almost two years I'm so ready but at the same time I'm so not ready.

The gist is it's every single self-indulgent, chaotic, projection-ridden idea I've ever wanted for these boys all rolled in a big ball of shenanigans and character growth. It's a beautiful mess and I can't wait to make it happen as soon as ANR is done.

6. What character do you have the most fun writing?

This is gonna come right the fuck out of left field, but I love writing Himuro. I have so much fun writing just... snark, and that boy is the perfect outlet, there's no bottom to that salt mine. I remember getting a similar kick out of writing Tsukishima in the past, I just live for sassy dialogue. It ain't much but it's honest work.

7. What do you think are the characteristics of your personal writing style? Would others agree?

My style is very present, I think (which is funny bc there was a time I never would have considered writing present tense) focusing on what's happening and how it makes the character feel in the moment. I like to write specific, detailed imagery, but I try to keep it short and relevant to the scene, so I can move along and focus on what's important. I wouldn't call it fast-paced, exactly, but it is pretty to-the-point. And I think, based on the feedback I've received, that people who read my fics might agree with that. I've heard that my writing is very personal and character-driven, and I think that might be a byproduct of the time I spent writing in first person. Now I write almost exclusively third person limited, but I still like to get in the character's head and tell the story from their "point of view", I guess. 

14. At what point in writing do you come up with a title?

It depends almost entirely on how quick I'm able to come up with a pun lol. Sometimes a fic has a title before I've even written the first sentence, sometimes I have to scramble for something, anything in the last few seconds before I publish it. A lot of the time I'll have a working title like "that one really fucked up aokaga oneshot" for pretty much the duration of writing a new fic… and a lot of the time I'll end up using song titles, even though we're past the days of writing songfics. 

17. Do you think readers perceive your work - or you - differently to you? What do you think would surprise your readers about your writing or your motivations?

I think, to a degree, people get different things from my writing than I intended -- which is good! The way a piece of writing can be interpreted completely differently depending on who's reading it is one of the best things about being a writer tbh. I think people might be surprised, though, how different my fics often turn out from how I set out to make them. These days I've usually got a pretty detailed outline for what's going to happen, but even with all the preparation in the world, sometimes a fic will take a sudden detour I didn't expect, or something I wrote before will take on new meaning and change the direction I meant to go in. This definitely happens more with my longer fics, but there are times even with oneshots where I look back at what I set out to write, and what I ended up writing, and they're completely different.

19. Is there something you always find yourself repeating in your writing? (favourite verb, something you describe ‘too often’, trope you can’t get enough of?)

I tend to write a lot of scenes with characters talking while in the car (cars are an intentional motif in ANR, but in something like GWGE there's not actually a lot of narrative purpose to this) I don't know why, maybe because it's a convenient way to have characters talk one-on-one, or maybe it's because I've had a lot of meaningful conversations while riding passenger, couldn't tell you, but it's cropped up more than once in my current fics and will probably feature in some of my upcoming ones (the college AU strikes me as a likely candidate), and I think it's worth taking note of.

20. Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?)

SINCE you mentioned Bring Me Roses, and I never really get to talk about it, pls allow me to go on a lengthy tangent about my most underrated fic of all time. (Like 90% of the reason it's still incomplete almost two years later is because the response when I posted it was so underwhelming, but I still stand by it. Someday I'll finish it, hopefully, if just for myself.) 

I'm so fucking proud of the language in this one. It's not perfect, by any means, but the imagery in my opinion is very strong, and almost every line of dialogue is saying something without really saying it. There are frequent allusions that something happened to Aomine's mother, relatively recently, and that Momoi is worried about him overworking out of grief or guilt, but none of those things are ever actually stated. There's also some pretty heavy implicit flirting between Aomine and Kuroko, even if it's a bit unusual and they're both playing it coy at this stage, the chemistry is there and the interest is mutual. And of course, because it's a florist AU, the flower symbolism… I spent so long researching bouquets, plant husbandry, how to prep and preserve cut flowers, and of course… flower meanings. The main ones that keep getting brought up are dahlias, which have just as many negative connotations as positive ones, including betrayal and instability, but also dignity, creativity and change, and come in a variety of colors shapes and even sizes (Islander or "dinnerplate" dahlias were definitely going to feature in part 2… as well as the connection between them and Aomine's mother). I know a lot of these things might not hit as hard because there's no actual payoff (yet), but still, in terms of "show don't tell" and setting up things to come, I don't think I have a single better example in my fic repertoire, I really went all out with this.

It's a shame I never got to follow through, but I got the impression that there just wasn't a lot of interest, and even if that alone is kind of a dumb reason not to continue, after I worked so hard to pull off what I did, the lack of response really killed my motivation. (I wonder sometimes if it would've been better received if it was an AoKaga fic… actually, I don't need to wonder, I'm sure it would have been, but that's not the story I set out to tell and I'm not going to change it.)

21. What other medium do you think your story would work well as? (film, webcomic, animated series?)

Oh, I'd love to do some of my fics as comics. I even tried it at one point; GWGE was going to be a comic originally, before I decided a multichapter fic would probably be less exhausting (the first couple pages are still floating around in my art tag somewhere, though this was back in high school so the quality is… heh).

22. Do you reread your old works? How do you feel about them?

Yeah… I reread a lot. Usually while I'm working on a new chapter, I'll go over the ones that lead up to it to make sure I don't repeat the same phrases too much and that the continuity lines up, and I'll also admit to going back and just reading my own fics for fun. Sometimes the only one who's written exactly what I want to see is me. 

How I feel about them depends on the fic… some of my older ones are a mix of nostalgia and cringe tbh, but there are some I still genuinely enjoy revisiting from time to time. 

24. Would you say your writing has changed over time?

Oh hell yeah. For… better and worse, honestly. I feel like I've lost some fluidity and confidence in my writing, and it sometimes turns kind of stilted, so I try to overcompensate which results in pretty jarring changes of tone, but at the same time, I've gotten much better with rhythm and syntax, my grammar skills are always improving, and I'm able to incorporate a lot more intentional meaning and subtext without always stating things outright.

[lavenderbones22]

Dark Paradise- Ben Hardy

Summary: Ben's girlfriend is one of the most famous singers in the world. What happens when one night his jealousy gets the better of him?

Requested: 'hiii 💖could you please write something angsty with Ben where the reader is a celebrity, paparazzis and fans follow her all the time and Ben gets mad bc he just wants to be alone with her and he's not used to all of that and they get into an argument? Thank u, have a nice day :)'

Word Count: 2963

-----------

She lived for the attention. She loved the way her name sounded when it was shouted throughout an entire arena. She loved the signs her fans would make, holding them up amongst thousands of people hoping for a chance to be seen. She loved hearing her lyrics sung back to her; so deep and so personal.

She wasn't narcissistic, no, quite the opposite actually. Although she exuded an intense confidence when she stood in front of the microphone, the second she came off of that stage she morphed back into the girl she really was. That girl wasn't weak nor was she self demoralising. She was just a portion of the woman she tried to portray to her audience; someone who was strong enough to live this life and void of pain from the things said about her.

She'd sung since she could talk. Her mother alway said that she could never get her to stop once she knew how and that memory always made her smile. She was addicted to Sing Star, her friends never understanding how she was so good and they were not. It was something that just came natural to her, something she didn't think twice about.

She had thought twice about a lot of things in her life and along with singing, her boyfriend Ben was another. Having met two years ago and shortly after entering into an exclusive relationship, Ben had quickly become her second vice. She wasn't known when they met, he more familiar to the public due to his character on Eastenders. In the two years they'd been together her career had grown, thrusting her full force into a farfetched level of fame that she had only ever dreamed about.

And although she had work commitments most days, more times than not often taking her out of London, her relationship with Ben still continued to blossom.

Ben always remembered the moment he met her as clear as day. They were in a coffee shop, her arms full from the orders of everyone in her office; she was the new receptionist. She had nearly dropped the tray but lucky for her Ben's reflexes were on point and he was able to stop them from falling out of her arms.

"Thank you," her voice was sweet as she looked into the eyes of the blonde boy.

"S'alright," he'd responded, helping her put the coffees back in their original spots. "D'ya need any help?" He couldn't stop himself from looking at her pink, plump lips as she licked them unintentionally.

"Erm, I'm fine thank you." The way she had looked at him, as if begging him to say something more. The lip bite too, was what proceeded to made him weak at his knees and what followed was totally out of character for him.

"Well then, I'd really like to see you again. Can I have your number?"

And that was it.

Weeks later they were dating exclusively, neither second guessing the speed at which they were moving in their relationship. They figured if it felt right, so why not?

Lately though, Ben had been feeling aggravated. He loved his girl more than anything but that was just the problem. He loved her and he wanted to spend all the time with her that he could but so did everybody else in the entire world. She was being pulled constantly from pillar to post and trying to please everyone and of course Ben saw that, he saw just how hard she tried to balance all the aspects of her life but that didn't make it any easier on him and how he felt.

He was busy too though, filming 'Bohemian Rhapsody' where he was playing rock legend, Roger Taylor. She'd only managed to visit him on set once. And that once was basically her socialising with his co-stars who at the time hadn't realised she was dating Ben and naturally all freaked the fuck out.

He loved seeing that side of her. He knew why everyone loved her, she was an incredible person. But he wanted her to himself. Was that so bad?

Just last week he'd organised a date night at her favourite restaurant in London. Not only were they followed from the car to the restaurant by the incessant snaps and calls of the paparazzi, but during their dinner the paparazzi were pressed up against the window constantly taking photos. The pair ended up moving tables where they weren't seen but by then, they had both had enough and taken the back door exit .

"Ben?"

Her voice rang through the home they shared in Chelsea.

"Are you home?"

Putting her Louis Vuitton bag down on the kitchen table, she went to the fridge and poured herself a glass of iced tea.

"Babe?" She called again.

"'m here," he responded lazily, walking in from the study.

"Why'd you not answer me the first time?" She questioned him, rinsing her glass and putting it away.

"Sorry, I was concentrating." He typed away at his phone. She frowned. "Was going over some lines."

She could sense he was acting a bit off. Usually being so affectionate and attentive to her, kissing her almost immediately when she walked in the door. Unpacking some things their housekeeper had bought from the grocery store, her eyes remained on him as he hadn't yet looked up from his phone to even acknowledge her.

She let it go a few moments, maybe she was overreacting. But after at least five minutes had passed and zero interaction on his end, she had to say something.

"What's going on?"

He looked up at her, finally. His green eyes, usually bright and igniting, were dull.

"Nothin'."

She rolled her eyes at his mediocre response. "I don't appreciate being lied to Ben." The air around them was beginning to tense, the low sounds of 'The Doors' playing from the study where he'd been inhabiting the past two hours was the only thing making the situation at present even slightly bearable.

"I literally only said nothin'" he scoffed with a smirk on his face she wanted to slap right off. He pulled a chair out and sat at the table, face glued to his phone once more.

"No need to be condescending," she sighed. "You're being a dick, Ben. Have you got a problem with me?" It saddened her. She knew they were about to get into an argument, something they never did.

"I've barely spoken since you got in," he laughed arrogantly. "How am I being a dick?"

"It's the way you're talking Ben!" Her voice was getting louder. He was being impossible. "You're speaking to me like I'm a piece of shit on the ground." She slammed the fridge door after having put the milk inside.

"Calm." His tone insinuated he was mocking her.

He knew he was being an ass to her; it was purposeful. Although he knew none of what was going on was her fault, she was simply the only person he had to take it out on. And besides, she could try a little harder with their relationship. To put it simply, Ben felt second, heck, he felt one hundredth best in her life right now.

"If you speak to me in that tone one more time, I'm leaving." She knew he thought her threat was an empty one. She even thought that maybe it was but she also knew that she had so many other places to go if Ben wasn't going to treat her right.

"You're not leaving," he put his phone down on the table and looked at her. She looked like she was about to burst into tears. Shit. Now he felt bad.

"If you're not going to speak to me in the way that I deserve then I will leave Ben. Don't tempt me, because I'll get my shit and I'll be out of here so fucking fast." She could feel the tears brimming the corners of her eyes and she was desperately trying to avoid his big eyes that were now heavily set on her.

"Stop acting like I'm some sort of abusive bastard," his accent was pronounced like it usually was when he spoke sternly, something she usually found charming, but not when it was directed at her.  "I treat you like a queen and you know it!"

"Then talk to me Ben!" She yelled, gesturing her hands at the blonde boy. "Tell me what the fuck is going on inside of your head because although I know you like the back of my hand I can't read your mind so I really need you to help me out here!" Her voice was breaking as she spoke to him. The tears having already fallen down her cheeks.

His anger had dispersed and made way for his guilt. He hadn't stopped to think that maybe all of this was getting to her too.

"I just miss you," he spoke lowly.

She raised her brows. "You miss me?"

He nodded. "You always have everybody wanting your attention. I never feel like I get to have you to myself anymore. There’s always paparazzi or fans or friends or whoever the fuck else," he explained. “I just miss the days when it was you and me against the world.”

Her heart broke a little at what he was telling her."Why haven't you told me you felt like this sooner?" She was stood beside the table where he was still sat in one of the chairs.

"No clue honestly. I guess I'm just not as used to all of this as you are."

"You need to speak up Ben. Because if you don't tell me I can't try and change anything," she pulled the chair out opposite to him and sat down. "Besides, you're going to have to get used to this sort of attention yourself once the movie's out," she smiled. "The girls will go crazy for you."

"Yeah, right," he laughed. "Not likely."

The two shared a moment in laughter. Both feeling more relaxed now that the worst seemed to be over.

"We okay?" She asked him, leaning across the table and grabbing his hands in hers. "I love you. It’s still us against the world. Always will be."

"We're fine," he smiled, his green eyes lighting up again like they always did when he looked at her. "And I love you too."

She took this moment to get up and sit on his lap. "You know what..." her voice had lowered now, sultry.

"What?" His hand was on the top of her ass rubbing lovingly. Hers both around his neck as she looked down at him.

"I'm not busy now..."

Ben certainly wasn't a miss to her suggestion, picking up what she was laying down right away. He pulled her onto his body fully, her legs sitting either side of his muscular thighs as he began to ravage her neck

"Well you will be in a second," his lips against her skin felt like heaven, hands rubbing her full ass that was covered in her tight jeans. She started rubbing herself against him by moving back and forth, feeling him grow underneath her as the pressure between them became more taut.

His mouth was attached to hers in a hot kiss, tongues messy, moans slipping wildly from each of their mouths.

Breaking the kiss, Ben pulled away looking over her gorgeous face.

"You are so beautiful." He kissed her forehead, her cheeks, her nose. She giggled. Then he kissed her lips. "I love you."

"I love you too," She replied, her hand on his neck, their foreheads against one another.

Ben had a way of making her feel like she was the only girl on the planet. That was why her reaction to his behaviour the last little while was so dramatic; it was completely out of character for him. Whenever they were together, which was most of the time, she always felt safe, protected, desired but most of all she felt loved. He was her number one, her partner in crime. So naturally, when one feels that beginning to strain stress levels rise.

She tilted her head back and moaned loudly as his teeth dug into the skin of her neck.

"That's right baby, be as loud as you need to be," he coaxed her. He loved it when she screamed, let him and the neighbours know who was making her feel so good.

Her  fingers clenched onto the fabric of his t-shirt on his shoulders while his big hands gripped tightly at her hips. She started to grind against him harder, he was practically fully hard now. He groaned loudly as the pressure between their bodies was at an all time high; she needed him naked as soon as possible.

"Take this off," she demanded, running her hands up his stomach against his hot skin and helping him pull his t-shirt off. "I just don't understand why you even wear shirts," she giggled eyeing the muscles that moved underneath his skin. She certainly didn't miss the enlarged veins running along his forearms.

"I just don't understand why you do either," he retorted with his hands immediately underneath hers, t-shirt and ripping it over her head. His lips were along her collarbone, licking, biting, sucking and she drove her nails into the skin of his back. He groaned, Ben loved it when she left marks across his back.

He moved his hands behind her back and unclipped her bra, it falling down beside them. His mouth was on her nipple without a thought. She arched her back so he had a bit more room and had her hand behind his head holding him in place. His tongue flicked and bit down creating more noises from her. Ben had always been a boobs guy, often telling her that hers were one of his favourite parts of her body.

Hands moving up her body slowly, pulling her into him as he devoured one breast then the next. This man could virtually bring her to orgasm by simply doing that.

"Fucking hell your tits!" He growled, pulling away and kissing her passionately again. "They'll be the death of me," he chuckled.

A smirk and a hand along his waistband brought his attention elsewhere.

She opened his jeans , his erection already rebelling against its restrains. Pulling them down along with his underwear she freed his huge cock, the veins already prominent and thick, and she began to jerk it.

"Mmm, let me..mmm," he could barely get a sentence out with her fingers around him like they were. He didn't need to vocalise what he wanted; she knew.

"Here," she released him for a second while she pulled her underwear down and over her legs, throwing them away. "Better?" she smirked.

"Much better," a contented smile on his face.

She inhaled sharply when she felt his finger against her wet folds. He pushed it in, curling it at exactly the right spot, causing her to squeal. Pinching her clit hard, she gripped him tighter and let out a small shriek. He moaned against her lips before kissing her hard and sliding two of his long fingers into her pussy. She let herself sink forward, not being able to support her own weight anymore, and she moaned against his neck while she continued to jerk him.

"Make up sex is so hot,"he groaned, hardly able to keep concentrated on her, but still alert enough to keep fucking her with his fingers.

Their foreheads rested against each other while they both moaned, enjoying the moment of intimacy after such heated words and stressful situations. "Me too," she groaned when he rubbed the palm of his hand against her clit and added a third finger.

That was the moment he chose to retrieve his fingers and put them in his mouth, sucking them clean. "Fuck, you taste good baby." A fresh set of goose bumps ran down her spine and arms. This man was the king of turning her into a melting mess. She smiled at his comment and directed his face to her own, kissing him with all that she had.

He ran his fingers through her hair and kissed her back, sucking on her lower lip, rubbing his nose against hers.

She jerked his dick softly in a circular fashion and kissed him, licking his tongue. "I love you so much... so fucking much," she murmured between kisses and she felt him smile against her lips. "I'm sorry for making you feel forgotten." His hands settled down on her hips, lifting her up a little.

"Don't worry about it," he reassured her "But I love you more darlin'," he grinned and positioned her over his erection. "Ready?"

"Born ready," she announced happily and moaned while he sank her down on his erection. His dick practically pierced into her small body. She was sure that if she took her hand out of Ben's hair, she could feel him in her belly. He increased the pressure on her hips and started to move her up and down his cock, causing him to groan and to start panting.

"Oh fuuuuuck," he moaned with an open mouth and big eyes. She absolutely loved the way he moaned so freely and loudly. He ran his hands through her long hair and moved with her, pushing his dick into her. "Oh fuck, you feel good. My beautiful girl you feel fucking good..."

Her fingers were tangled in his hair as she bounced up and down. Not so soft sounds falling out of me like raindrops from the sky.

"I'm nearly there," she warned him. "So close."

He gripped her tighter, knuckles white, as he brought her to her orgasm. Loudly, she tightened around his cock, her juices coating him nicely. That feeling brought his own orgasm on rather quickly, shooting into her before he knew what was what.

There was no mistaken that make up sex was indeed one of the best.

"Fuck babe," he laughed as he dropped his sweaty forehead against her shoulder. "Such a good fuck."

"And remember," she put her fingers underneath his chin to make him look at her. "No one else gets me like this. Only you Mr Hardy."

TAG LIST: @fuckinghurricanesoul @spidreling @tanya-is-dead @ziggysstarrdust @screaminggalileochickenwrites @galileoqueen-mama-mia @mortifiedmoon @softbenhardy 

[siirensung]

Hello :) My name is Dani and first of all let me tell you that I LOVE your writing. I literally sit and read how you interact with others for HOURS and seeing you and a couple of the people you write with gave me the inspiration to create an indie blog for my bb Reyes. That being said, I've never had an indie rp before but I've figured the basics with the rules, verses, etc. Could you please give me some suggestions on how to approach people or get this thing started? I'd thank you forever

asldkfh that’s so sweet of you omg what the fuck

HELL YEAH OKIE DOKIE first thing first: the best way to learn how to indie rp is just to follow a bunch of people and sort of pick and choose the different techniques you like to resemble. that what i did. i came from a long experience of closed group rping with no formatting, and just sort of floated with the indie trends that came and out, and kept the ones i like. i’m gonna tell you how I consider indie rping, which isn’t law or bible or anything, but this is what i look for when i’m looking to follow people!

first, the technical shit

RULES. i’m gonna go over things you say you already know, because there are some. hidden things that people sort of silently expect. in your rules, you must have your name/alias, your pronouns, your age (the terms ‘minor’ or ‘18+’ are sufficient, you don’t need to give your exact age but you NEED to tell people if you’re a minor or not), and your triggers (again, no detail necessary, just tell us what we should tag for you). these are the necessities and the rest is up to you. make your rules clear and concise, and on the short side. it helps to bold important things so people can skim and find them easily. personally, i like seeing people’s shipping policies. bc i’m a shipping slut. are you single ship? multiship? do you prefer not to ship? are you exclusive?

SELECTIVITY. on that note. let people know about your selectivity. do you want to play with anyone who follows you? do you only want to play with mutual followers (people you follow who follow you back)? i, as well as (almost) everyone i follow, are mutuals only. don’t feel guilty if you want to follow this route, and don’t let people talk you into playing with people you don’t want to play with. this blog is yours and your time is yours. spend it how you choose.

EXCLUSIVITY. along the same vein, let people know about your policy on exclusivity – which basically means that there are certain blogs of characters and theirs is the only blog of that character with whom you will play. this is entirely up to you. personally, i don’t do it and i never will. but be sure to let people know if you do! make sure to be honest. make sure you’re comfortable with your rules.

then, the aesthetic shit

REPRESENTATION. the first glance. the first eye contact. generally, this is the mobile preview. have a cool looking mobile banner! it attracts the eye! you don’t need to be a photoshop god for this, either. minimalism is in. a dark screenshot of your character that blends in with the color of your mobile background is hella neat. make sure the color is eye-friendly. black, white, cream, soft tones. if a mobile preview is lime green or shocking blue, i won’t give it a second look. My Eyes, They Bleed. then make sure you have SOMEWHERE on your mobile preview the bare minimum of your blog’s explanation. it doesn’t need to be long. in fact, i tend to like short ones. minimalism, man. for example, mine: ‘multimuse rp blog: dragon age and mass effect canon and ocs’. i’m saying what this blog is: an rp blog. i’m saying what KIND of rp blog: a multimuse. what fandoms i cater to: dragon age and mass effect. what characters you expect to find here: canon and ocs. sometimes people will put their name, too. (also, warn people if you have an autoplay. just write ‘ap’ or ‘autoplay’. people know.)

REPRESENTATION PART 2. piggybacking on all that: promos. gotta have a promo. this is how people find you, and how you can spread the word about your cool new blog. (tag it with the audiences you want to attract. such as: mass effect rp, mass effect roleplay, bioware rp, bioware roleplay, star wars rp, etc etc. the mass effect fandom isn’t all that huge. consider expanding with crossovers to other space fandoms, such as star wars and star trek. we’re buddies.) it can be as simple as the icon promo trend, where you have a horizontal line of icons of your character followed by ‘like/reblog if you’re interested in playing with (character name)! written by (your name).’ it can be that chill. sometimes it can be dramatic. just make sure it’s tasteful. try to avoid gaudy. ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS (this is my pet peeve) INCLUDE YOUR CHARACTER’S NAME AND THE FANDOM NAME. i die inside every time i have no idea who this promo is for.

THEME. the second glance. your blog’s handshake. first – and sometimes last – impression. same rules as the preview and the promo, make it tasteful or make it minimalist. make it easy to follow. if you’re not confident in your aesthetic or ps skills, the white blogs with a simple pic of your character in the sidebar is in right now. leave it open to interpretation. theme-hunter is where i get all my themes, for the most part. if you want some cool theme suggestions, let me know! you may end up interested in html through theme aesthetic and wANTING IT TO BE PERFECT. like me. hehe. anywho – you’ll see a lot of Hyper Aesthetic Themes. try not to get worried about them. the most important thing is that your links to your rules, verses, dossier (if you have one), and ask are clear. the writing is easy to read.

also, the replying shit

FORMATTING. okay so formatting is a Minefield right now. personally, i really enjoy formatting! my formatting trick is: twenty spaces before each paragraph to simulate tabs, bolding quotation marks and putting a space between the marks and the dialogue, ( doing this to parentheses and quite frankly using Way too many parentheses ), BOLDING AND CAPSING emotive words or phrases, italicizing things for emphasis, using small font (and sometimes tiny font). but DON’T overdo it. still, the point is legibility. it’s your choice to use formatting at all. i like it a lot, it helps me Feel the writing and reply. it’s also your choice to use small or tiny font, but… i’ma be honest. i really really do prefer when people use small or tiny font. people are pushing back against tiny font bc it can be really hard to read, so i tend to just use small font (unless my partner uses tiny font). to small font (on pc): select all the text, ctrl shift minus sign. to use tiny font: use small font, then ctrl comma. 

ICONNING. again, another minefield. as we speak, rp icons are getting smaller and smaller. my icons at 80x80 with a 2px border, and i often times use a psd. if you get your icons from somewhere, credit that place. i frequently make my own, but not always. as a personal favor, don’t go smaller than 75px… the icons… they’re shrinking…

SPEED. go at your own speed! i cannot stress the importance of this. i’m currently suffering from depression and some Shit, so i may be on the dash a lot, but my reply speed is frequently outstripped by passing snails. don’t write if you’re not feeling it. don’t feel pressured to do it. personally, the majority of the fun of rping is plotting with your partner and obsessing over your character. people love to see people enthusiastic about their kid. that’s why they followed you. bc they love your kid, too. if you have a thread you’re not feeling, be honest! TALK TO YOUR PARTNER.

COMMUNICATION. on that note! get to know your rp partners. love them. cherish them. tell them they’re wonderful. tell them when you’re not feeling a thread. don’t suffer in silence. drop threads. treat yoself. also, follow ALL THE PEOPLE. they may not follow you back. don’t tug at them if they don’t. follow people and make sure you have examples of your writing on your page, even if it’s just a long headcanon or drabble. like a cover letter. 

WRITING. third person. i think i can be pretty confident about this: only third person. i use present tense for the most part, but present or past tense. sometimes there are oneliners (replies that are usually just dialogue, maybe with a lil but of narrative for actions, usually spur of the moment and dropped after the moment is gone). there are short paras (generally 1-3 paragraphs of varying sizes). there are long paras (4-6 paras, usually for plotting). there are Novella (6+ for the Intense Future Tolkiens i can’t do this i’m a dr seuss). 

TAGGING. can be pretty simple. as a multi, i have too many characters to have thorough tagging systems. a lot of people have different tags for like. aesthetic, musing, visage, headcanons, etc. mine is simple. each character has an in character thread tag: * ｡✧ ━ ⦅ character: scott. ⦆. also, a musing tag: * ｡✧ ━ ⦅ musing: scott. ⦆. a headcanon tag: * ｡✧ ━ ⦅ headcanon: scott. ⦆. sometimes a ship tag: * ｡✧ ━ ⦅ scott & liam: just frame the halves and call them brothers. ⦆. and you MUST have an out of character tag, where it’s just you talking, and you must tag every post of just you talking with it: * ｡✧ ━ ⦅ out of character. ⦆. it must be clear. you can make them fancy and pretty like this. i like them. it’s not necessary. also: tag any triggers. important. search your partners’ rules for their triggers. if someone asks you to tag a trigger, do it without a second thought.

lastly, the important shit

HAVE FUN! we’re all here for the same reason. we love mass effect. WE LOVE SPACE. there will always be aggression and elitism and hurt feelings in the indie rp community. always. try not to let it bring you down. play nice. kindergarten rules. enjoy!

let me know if you have more questions/want more detail!

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