#can you tell I was tempted to write a fic with the premise??

[b-rainlet]

Aegon would initially encourage Helaemond affair but then silently seethe in jealousy because he cannot believe Aemond does a better job at being a better lover (ffs, not in this too). Unironically, Helaemond would improve Helaegon relationship simply because Aegon would start a competition (solely existing in his head) of who can make Helaena cum more and harden which would indirectly bring Aegon and Helaena closer. And although I love an OT3 ending, Aegon would never want to share Helaena - he would be okay with extramarital sex, but Helaena loving Aemond more or even on the same level as him would never not trigger “omg mommy pls love ME” reflex in him. So he will taunt Aemond with their sister’s pussy but always remind him that she can never be truly Aemond’s. Ofc Helaena’s pussy is too addictive so he accepts and suffers in silence :) and Helaena is just a happy little bug in the middle getting extra dick every night :) :) :) Everyone suffers but her (as it should be)

This is so spot on, it may as well be what we would get if they made Helaegon vs. Helaemond canon lmao.

(This is gonna be looong so my rambles under the cut:)

Aegon absolutely cannot stand not being the center of attention and if he won't get any relief from his sexual obsession with his mother, then his sister has to be the next best thing.

At first it's like 'Why should I spent any time with Helaena, courting her or whatever, we're gonna marry anyway.' because Helaena was supposed to be his from the start so why even bother? Aegon is so used to Helaena being his mother's gift to him, he definitely takes her for granted. And there's no jealousy anywhere because nobody wants to associate with Helaena!

She's weird and she's a bit creepy with her bugs and her prophecies and any noble who ever was bewitched by her gentle nature and entertained the thought of courting her would've had second thoughts the moment Helaena would use a walk in the garden to start climbing into the bushes or digging in the dirt.

(I think Helaena would be very aware of how she's supposed to act in company of others but since Otto only ever really came back into the picture when the kids were already 10-14 and Viserys didn't really care, the greens most likely had some freedom in regards to behaving like total weirdos.

I don't know how much sense that makes since Alicent is all about duty and sacrifice but the first time we saw Aegon getting scolded it's by Otto, so I am personally believing that Alicent let her kids get away with a lot. And that aside from Aemond, both Aegon and Helaena used that to just. Be the weirdos they are.

Until Otto came along of course and started grooming Helaena to behave like a proper lady of the court).

And that's 100% the only reason Aegon (and Aemond) haven't been in any fights over Helaena's 'virtue'. If Helaena would've been more like Alicent or Sansa or Margaery, there would've been a bigger line up of people looking for the princesses favour - potentially even after Alicent announced her children's betrothal because betrothed isn't married yet and a Targaryen princess bonded to a Dragon? Always a big plus.

(There probably have been suitors - I can't believe the Lannisters wouldn't have tried - but as opposed to GoT, HotD feels...smaller? Like, I don't see any other kids at court aside from Aemond, Aegon and Helaena and that absolutely cannot be, but I guess they wanted the show to be more of a family drama. But maybe the books mention that there was no other potential suitor for Helaena and idk that because I haven't read the books, who knows).

I mean, the moment Jace dances with Helaena (which he btw only does to spite Aegon, I don't know why people seem to think he did it to make Helaena happy? He doesn't really care about her, they didn't even seem to have any kind of relationship - positive or negative - as kids, so why would his motivation lie with her and not with the Uncle he used to obviously be fond of and who now keeps belittling him in front of his betrothed) Aegon looks stunned. Like he never thought of the possibility of another man even looking at Helaena twice.

I mean, why should he? Helaena is his by all means and her being unfaithful? Will never happen. She was raised by Alicent after all and all of them now that the things Aegon does and the freedom he has hinge solely on the fact that he's a man.

Aegon and Aemond even share a look like 'Are you seeing this? Are we collectively hallucinating? What is going on??'

And to just think about this scene a little more and view it through a shippy lense: Aemond is probably also stunned and even more angry because there he is, the second son, the younger brother, the one who is so used to wanting yet never receiving unless he takes things by force - and pays for it in blood - there he is, resigning himself to a life without Helaena at his side because she was born not for him, but for his brother, swearing to himself to protect them both as best as he can (and their children) because that's the only way he can show love to either of them without it being inappropriate and what does Jace do?

The bastard who's waiting for his turn to sit the throne once again takes something he isn't privy to, yet feels entitled to possess, dancing with a married woman in front of her husband and his own betrothed (and even if he just wanted to annoy Aegon, I think not dancing with Baela first is seen as a slight within Westerosi society) without any thought of repercussions or honour.

So yeah, it's actually surprising that neither Aemond nor Aegon started a fight sooner lmao.

But I am completely going off the rails here, my point was that Aegon isn't used to sharing Helaena and that he would absolutely hate it.

And the only way I can see Aemond being a part of the Helaegon relationship is definitely if it's clear that Aegon is the favoured one. He's the one Helaena calls Husband, he's the one who is allowed to be tender with her in public (which he would be more and more the moment Aemond would be involved with Helaena because Aegon is nothing if not mean and he likes to see the way Aemond tries so very hard not to look at them, failing spectacularly each time).

Helaena can 'indulge herself' but only if Aegon is present/informed, I would even go as far as saying that Aemond has to ask Aegon for permission before making Helaena come, because a wife's pleasure is her Husband's business.

It's also clear that all the children Helaena will carry will be Aegon's and in turn, Aegon makes sure that Aemond doesn't get married off (if it's a situation where Aegon is King anyway).

That way, Aemond can forever remain by his siblings' side, just like he wants to, and his loyalties will forever lie with his family, but it also means that he will have no children of his own and that he will view his niece and nephews as his, even if he can't be as affectionate as he may want to, so not to stir up any rumours.

(It would also be fun if Aegon kept dangling the possibility of Helaena carrying Aemond's child over Aemond's head, promising him that if he is good and if he pleases Aegon, he may be allowed to sire a bastard - and Aegon would definitely make it a point to call said potential child a bastard, only to make Aemond hate himself a little more, because he doesn't want to 'defile' Helaena like that, but he already lost any honour he may have had when he followed Aegon's invitation to join them in their chambers all those years ago and the thought of getting Helaena pregnant gets him off harder than he wants to admit to himself.

And if said possibility ends up being true - if Aegon decides he has enough male heirs which would sit the throne way before Aemond's kid would have the chance - then there's the added pain of finally having a daughter (because Aemond would definitely have a daughter and spoil her to death, I don't take criticism on that), yet having to watch her call Aegon 'Daddy' and giggle as Aegon bounces her in his lap.

Aemond would definitely be the most distant with the kid he sired because he would feel constantly watched whenever he interacts with his daughter, whereas he feels a little safer being affectionate with his niece and nephews and his child would definitely grow up thinking her uncle can't stand her while Aemond is absolutely dying to be tender with her).

Anyway all this to say that you are spot on anon, I love any and all interpretations of the greens and their incest obsession (for example Aegon offering Helaena up to Aemond as a way of apologizing for not protecting him from Luke all those years ago), but based on their canon characterization, if there was the potential of Helaegond (which I don't think would ever actually happen, Aemond is too much of a good catholic boy to even think about his sister while masturbating) then it would be similar to what you described.

Maybe Aegon would approach Aemond after the dinner - after he worked through his own feelings of jealousy and realized, hey, there's very much the possibility of somebody realizing how neglected Helaena is and just. courting her behind Aegon's back - especially if Otto somehow has his hands in it.

I don't know why I am so obsessed with this premise, but Otto actively looking for and intrducing noblemen to Helaena as a way of enticing them to pledge alliance to Aegon? Stunning. At first it's the possibility of claiming a Tagaryen princess for themselves, later on it's being in the Queen's favour - and there's definitely some underlying hope there to be the one to ease the Queen's loneliness👀👀

And Aegon would have none of that. So, maybe it's actually thanks to Jace and opening Aegon's eyes that he would approach Aemond and ask him to 'entertain our dear sister so her thoughts won't stray'.

And Aemond is definitely affronted on Helaena's behalf because their sister would never. But at the same time, he's only just a man and the flesh is weak and I mean, at first it's just things like, spending time with her and the kids and keeping Helaena busy enough, she doesn't have any time for noblemen and their sharp tongues and wandering eyes.

Which quickly morphes into him staying the night in Helaena's chambers - just to make sure she's safe and sound of course, watching over her like a good brother, making sure she's actually in her and Aegon's bed while is who knows where, doing things Aemond would never dare think about.

But of course the closer the proximity, the bigger the temptation and the more Aemond sees how dismissive Aegon is of Helaena, the more he feels like their Mother made the wrong choice not marrying Helaena to him instead. He would've been a good husband, he would've made time for his children, he wouldn't be out there siring bastards and fucking whores while slurring out their Mother's name!

So the inevitable happens.

Little does Aemond know that Aegon was counting on Aemond to succumb to his desires one way or another. Aegon isn't stupid. He knows that Aemond has wanted their sister ever since they were children and he has allowed Aemond's quiet longing because he knows that Aemond is too much like their Mother to ever act on it.

Not without a little push at least.

So now Aegon has seemingly solved his little problem, because he has somebody to keep Helaena satisfied so she won't do anything unbecoming of a lady with somebody else (because if anybody would get to touch his wife in Aegon's opinion it would be their brother. He is the only one Aegon wouldn't kill for it and that's only because Aemond came from their Mother too and Aemond came after him and Helaena and if Helaena was made for Aegon, than Aemond can only be made for Aegon and Helaena.

Just like Daeron was made for Aemond).

Plus, Aemond is so torn up about it, Aegon has complete control of him. Aemond would kiss Helaena for the first time and immediately report it to Aegon, on his knees like he's confessing the gravest sin. And Aegon would get to play the benevolent god, forgiving and Aemond and even encouraging him to keep sinning, but only the way Aegon allows him too.

And it's a perfect arrangement.

Until Aegon starts feeling left out.

[midatwrtr]

If the our Tumblr smut community as a whole was a person, their greatest desire would be Karina for sure 😂

Nicely done on writing Two For One! The premise is pretty unique and honestly the whole thing is pretty hot. The ending is cute😊. I guess spoilers below for those who still haven't read it yet.

I wish 'Winter' didn't just poof and stayed longer 😭. As long as Minjeong is ok with it, OC could really come up with some extremely lewd thoughts and have experimental threesomes 😛

Which part of the fic proved to be the hardest to work out?

Was choosing Winter for this smut a purely spontaneous decision?

Is there any cut content that you originally wanted to do with the clone but ended up scrapping it in the end?

Hello Frisky,

Of course, everyone likes Karina, she's incredibly hot and has a great aura around her. It has become a rite of passage for smut writers to write Karina, as it is a guaranteed success.

That said, I don't plan to write Karina because everyone already wrote her. But she will never leave my mind, will she?

The base idea of '2 for 1' came to me from the 'duality' that idols have. There's always a stage persona that is very attractive and sexy and a behind-the-camera image of a cute girl. Seeing this contrast, I thought "They really look like two different people", and then I had the idea. What if they were actually two different people.

I was very conflicted about the choice. It was between Chaewon and Winter. Chaewon has a very different image on stage but when I started to write the fic, I immediately understood that it had to be Winter.

The very first part that I wrote was the dialogue of the first meeting with the 'clone', and with the whole dynamic, Chaewon did not fit.

The hardest part was making Minjeong gradually become more lewd. I wanted to make her innocence slip away but I also wanted to keep her personality intact. I hope that it was conveyed properly. But only you and the reader can tell me.

Originally I planned to add an anal scene, but after writing half of the fic I thought it was too much. It was already her first time, she already got a creampie, and it was enough.

Thank you for your interest in my work, I'm grateful.

Looking at these gifs, I already want to write Winter again, and Karina keeps tempting me.

[desertfangs]

if you keep them, share a deleted sentence or paragraph from a published fic

I do keep outtakes but usually only longer ones and I just checked for the most recent fics I've posted and I don't think I have any, which is not typical for me. Either that means I just removed some sentences or reworded things, or somehow lost the outtakes.

BUT I was especially looking for Look Right Through since it's a longer fic and while there aren't any outtakes I can find, I do have a false start. When I started this fic, I wanted to do something plotty that would force Armand, Marius, and Daniel to work together to solve a problem. And my first inclination was to have someone show up and ask Daniel for help. It wasn't working so I ended up going in a different direction, where Daniel finds a body in the house instead, but I don't know, I may eventually write use that premise.

Beneath the cut is the first beginning I wrote for what became Look Right Through, complete with Daniel wearing his shabbiest clothes for funsies:

Daniel jolted at the knock on the door. It wasn’t typical for people to come knocking on Trinity Gate’s front door. It wasn’t unheard of—god knew between Armand and Benji, Amazon packages were a regular occurrence—but at eleven o’clock at night, it was a little strange. It got stranger when he reached out with his sense and realized the unexpected visitor was a vampire.He set down his iPad and walked to foyer. The pounding on the door continued, so hard Daniel was worried they’d break the door. He was tempted to tell them to hold their damn horses but instead, crept up to the peephole and looked out. He frowned. The immortal was a woman who appeared to be in her thirties or so—near Daniel’s mortal age—with her messy brown hair in a bob. She was frenzied, looking behind her as if scared she was being pursued. She turned back and pounded on the door again. Daniel hesitated. Trinity Gate was, technically, the official New York Coven House, but he felt strange inviting an unknown immortal inside. Armand was out at some art fundraiser Daniel had managed to avoid going to, purely because Armand knew those people and they knew him to be with his “husband” Louis, who was in Paris. Daniel felt ill-equipped for this and suddenly wished Marius had made good on his promise to come to New York for the summer. He ran his fingers through his short ashen hair and then, after taking a breath, opened the door. The woman looked surprised to see him. Then again, Daniel was probably not what she expected, and it didn’t help that he was currently wearing sweatpants and a David Bowie t-shirt. “I seek protection from the Court,” she said, voice high and full of fear. “Can you help me?” “Yeah, of course,” Daniel said, moving back and gesturing for her to come inside. He poked out his head and looked down the street and out across the street into Central Park. He didn’t see or sense another immortal or anything threatening, but he wasn’t always convinced of the accuracy of his Mind Gift. He shut the door and then, for good measure, locked it, not that the deadbolt would do much against another immortal. Armand had other security measures for that. “What exactly are you seeking protection from?” Daniel asked. The woman was shaking, he realized, and deathly pale. She had marks on her wrists, dark bruises that were fading, but slowly. She hadn’t fed tonight, he gathered, and from what he could tell, she was fairly new in the blood. She looked Daniel over and frowned slightly. “You’re a vampire, so I assume this is the right place.” “Yeah, it is. Sorry. I should have… I’m Daniel. The official Coven Representative is out right now.” Daniel pulled out his phone. “I’ll text him.” Daniel texted “Court Emergency.” And then a second later, realized that could mean anything and Armand was sure to panic if he thought any of those he loved were in danger. “Stranger showed up here, wants our help.” The woman was looking around the foyer, still hugging herself. “What’s your name?” Daniel asked her. He should have asked that first, but he wanted to know what sort of situation he’d just let through the door. “Hadley,” she said, smiling faintly. It didn’t reach her eyes. Daniel’s phone buzzed. “On my way,” was Armand’s only reply. Good. Relief washed over him. He didn’t want to be handling this alone. “And what’s got you so scared?” Daniel asked her. She swallowed and shook her head. “He’s trying to kill me.” Daniel frowned. “Who?” “My maker.” Daniel winced involuntarily. “Why?” Hadley stared at him and did not answer. He figured the sweatpants weren’t exactly giving him an air of authority, but then, his plans for the evening had been to finish the Sunday Crossword on his iPad and maybe boot up the Playstation until Armand got home, at which point he’d hoped to ditch clothes entirely.

[writing-for-life]

Keeping Them In Character...

It’s so interesting what you wrote about fixing Morpheus in the other post, @rriavian. I didn't want to take that one too off topic, hence I made a new one. I hope this is okay, because I love talking about these things, especially with other writers (everyone who reads this, writer or not, feel free to join in). I think I’ve said this somewhere else before (can’t remember where): If we keep him in character, there is no fixing him anyway.

But fanfic wouldn’t be fanfic without those attempts, and I totally get why. I want a different ending for him, too, alas, not in canon, even if that might sound contradictory. If they touched the ending in the show, I’d honestly be pissed off, but that’s my personal problem, and Neil can do with it whatever he wants—it’s his story. So I guess every fic that sees him alive at the end starts with the premise that we have to bend him into shape ever so slightly to make it possible. To me though, there’s a world of a difference between that and basically turning him into an OC with no resemblance to Morpheus bar name and looks (not saying that isn’t fair, it’s just not for me because if I wanted that, I’d write an OC, because that’s what he would be to me).

Morpheus is not weak. I even get why some people who mainly came to the Sandman via the show might be drawn into that direction initially, because we obviously see him very low at the beginning (I’m hesitant to say “at his lowest”). But after that, he pretty much stands in his power again (with ups and down obvs)—a power that burdens him for a multitude of reasons I don’t want to go into now, otherwise I’ll still sit here tomorrow. Wrote about it a million times though.

I think the fundamental misunderstanding is that anyone can fix him. So whoever we pair up with him can only walk with him, but he’ll need to take the steps himself, and more importantly: He would need a reason to want to do that. And yes, that’s exactly what my OC tells him at some point because she suffers, and she’s done with it despite understanding him on a deep level and accepting who and what he is—I think you're right when you say there’s a tendency in fandom to turn one half of the relationship into some kind of martyr and/or “void filler” to save someone. And the tricky thing about Morpheus is: He actually is looking for something to fill a void (which, to stress that again, doesn't mean he isn't powerful, so it's not to be mistaken for general weakness). And both in The Sandman and in real life, that never leads to anything good, but I can see why it's tempting to fall into that trap because his character lends itself particularly well to that type of trope (and I even play around with that in the first part of my fic, but it was also clear to me that it won't end there).

Now, this obviously isn’t real life, a story doesn’t necessarily have to lead to something good, but the most important question, to me, was always: What would make him take said steps himself, and above all: WANT to take them? Because truly, that’s where it all falls down in canon. And there is enough scope to explore that in quite a few different ways in my view.

For me, it was always clear that it can never be through wanting to change who or what he is on a fundamental level (that’s why I’m not into retired!Dream AUs, because they would fundamentally change who he is. Again, totally fine if people want to explore that, it's just not for me). I honestly believe he would bristle at that and recoil/retreat. Because it would just add to what is at the core of his very dilemma: If you want to change who and what he is, you basically admit you don’t truly understand him (not even those closest to him truly do), and that’s part of what breaks him (I say “part”, because there are more things in the mix than one can shake a stick at). And there is a clear difference between his being capable of change (we all know he is) and wanting to change him. They are not one and the same, but sometimes, fandom treats them as if they were.

Misunderstanding him, misinterpreting him is inherent to his being: He is Dream—forever out of reach, forever nebulous and unreal and weird and prone to be misunderstood/misinterpreted unless you stop trying and just trust the process/intuition--otherwise, it wouldn’t be (a) D/dream. It truly applies to all that he is. And you see what happens when he tries to rationalise things himself: Although he understands the boundaries between dreams and reality and keeps them in place, he is UNreality, and forever will be. And the way that gets ignored in fandom sometimes baffles me. Although it also doesn’t, because of course we’re human, and we want things to be real.

Back to those steps: I personally think he would never take them for himself because he doesn’t believe he has a story, and outright centring himself as the main character who is in charge of his own story is something he will always deny himself. But I think that’s also the way in? Because if he could perceive, at least initially, that he is part of someone else’s story and that they WANT him in that story (all that he is and isn’t, including all that is broken) with full acceptance but without complete self-denial. That they don’t try to change him, because they understand what the unreal is (and that requires a very particular type of person). That he would want to try because the love he has for them weighs heavier than how little he loves himself (was it you, @stellerssong who recently also wrote something along those lines, or am I making that up?). And that by doing that, he gradually learns to see himself through someone else's eyes. And once on that path, he would maybe, just maybe, start to understand that indeed he has a story of his own, and that he might be able if not to entirely rewrite, but at least to keep on writing it from this moment onward. Like everyone who believes (because believing something is possible means trusting in it despite it not being real, and trusting in the process rather than the result. He knows the power this wields over everyone but himself--not because it’s not true for him but because he won’t allow it. But maybe he could get himself to a stage where he allows it). That it's not about fixing anything really, but growing enough around what's broken and always will be, instead of trying to make it smaller or go away.

Yes, I do believe that might be possible, although there's much more to it than I've written here because it's incredibly complex, and it requires a lot of give and take, compromise and yes, pain along the way. And maybe it might not work at all (I never really 100% know where I end up when I write because my characters always, always make those decisions for me, and despite setting out with a plan, I almost never end up where I had initially intended to go. So if you asked me today, I couldn’t promise that I truly know where my current WiP is going and who will be where at its end, and it is very frustrating at times because I’m not always happy with what these guys are doing. At the moment, I'm truly not). But I believe he would at least try if someone who allowed for those dynamics were around. And that’s why I wrote an OC, because while I can see one or two canon characters that get fairly close to what I'd envision (and none of them are one half of the bigger ships), I ultimately couldn’t do it with them because there was something in their established dynamics that threw it off for me. Unless I would have pulled at least one of them (probably both) OOC to a degree that felt too much for me. But I'm always super interested in other people's process and line of thinking.

But yeah, that’s the precarious dance between trying to keep him in character while also working towards a different ending (that's obviously far less of a problem in one-shots). If that will ever work—who knows…

[romaine2424]

Weekly Blog July 27, 2023

I've been very busy reading and writing since my last post! The good news is that I've posted the re-edited original (2007) seven chapters of my WIP! It felt so good put them back up. @m0srael and @epitomereally thank you muchly for the tags to do a WIP snip. I was going to do it but did this instead. :) I plan on posting Chapter 8, which will be the first brand-new chapter of the fic this weekend. After that, I'll wait a bit until I'm further along in my writing.

One of the fun things for me in this round of posting a fic, is using Work Skins on AO3. I know, I'm very late in the game. I'm now tempted to go back to my older stories and add some fun things to it. Especially for letters and newspaper articles!

Here's the link to my WIP. Hey, it's my blog, and I can do a little self-promotion. LOL I do miss the harrydraco com on LJ. It was the best for posting new fics and chapters to a wider audience. There is no equivalent in fandom now.

The Azkaban Letters (chapters 1-7) on AO3

Okay, now that's done, let's move onto the amazing fics I've read. Wow, just wow!

What I've Been Reading:

There's three fics I've read that were complete standouts. One older Dramione and Two new Drarry. I'm going to start with the Dramione and apologize to @lol-zeitgeistic (zeitgeistic on AO3) for stalking their works. Ha ha ha. Most folks obviously know their masterpiece story Azoth, REVOLVELOVER with Hit Wizard Harry, and Shibboleths (amazing sci-fi story). Yes, I know there's more...I'm working my way through. :) But as I was making my way through their catalogue of yumminess, I spotted their Dramione fic, Straightaway Dangerous (125K). I immediately felt a kindred spirit in that this was an older WIP that they were determined to finish. 8 years to the day. Here's the Summary:

During the final battle, an unexpected insult sends Fenrir Greyback on a rampage, changing 39 people into werewolves. He should've known better than to make Hermione one of that number. Includes werewolf living and culture, Draco’s questionable morals, Hermione’s questionable life choices, and unrequited bromance (well, it’s requited a bit, but don’t tell Potter that).

This fic hit so many of my personal buttons in what I love about HP fanfic. Exploration of places and character types mentioned in canon but where we have little more info. In this case, the place is Knockturn, where Hermione lives in a rundown flat. She's secretly trying to add charm to the place. The character types are hags, werewolves, vampires, veela (all magical but considered other), politics, and BAMF witches. LOL Okay, and the side of Harry/Luna was adorable. You will fall in love with this Harry.

The premise of the fic is that Hermione and Draco were both bitten together, and 37 or 38 others were too, during the Battle. They have some rights but not enough to make a life. Hermione and Draco are both Unspeakables and best friends for seven years...until things change with the political environment.

The current head of the Wizengamot is making things harder and harder for the 'others' and it becomes too much. Even the Werewolf Aurors (including Ron), are affected. But there is someone on their side and the reveal of that person was such a fabulous surprise.

The relationship between Draco and Hermione goes from enemies to friends to lovers (with lots of arguments because both are stubborn). The relationship progresses so naturally but every step well fought for. The initial sex scene is unexpected and it's fire. They both fall but Draco harder. It's a thing of beauty watching how he works for what he wants.

One last note: The lore in this fic is amazing. My favourite, as it's rarely explored, is for the hags. Truly deserves an award for creativity.

Straightaway Dangerous on AO3

LA, Who Am I To Love You? (42.5K) by Anon was posted yesterday for the @hd-wireless fest. I'm not going to go into too much of the story because it was written for @sitp-recs prompt, and Liv's comments on the fic will tell you how truly spectacular this fic is. I can't touch her way of expressing love for a fic. Here's the Summary:

Harry’s summer in LA is not going as expected. Pansy Parkinson keeps inviting him to parties in the Hollywood Hills and harassing him to finally go to the physical therapist, Blaise Zabini keeps slipping new strains of his company’s magical weed into Harry’s pockets in hopes of an endorsement, and Draco Malfoy keeps having sex with everyone but Harry.

See everything in that summary. It looks so light and so fun. It is, but there is so much depth hidden in each of those sentences. What I want to discuss is LA. If you've lived in the LA area or even just visited, this fic will make you weep with homesickness. Everything rang true, from the Bougainvillea flowers being like florescent crepe paper to driving at night with windows down, experiencing the warm air whether in the city or blessedly in the desert while listening to music. The magical touches added to the movie industry and to Quidditch were mind-blowing.

I was born in San Francisco and grew up in the East Bay Area, but went to undergraduate college in San Diego. 1/3 of my school was from LA. My dormmates, my best friend in college (RIP Kristy), my first serious college boyfriend. They all helped me fall in love with SoCal. It was a long time ago. I can't tell you how many memories came back last night reading this story. Now my ex-husband lives down there, and my son also. He's at an Art Institute. Thanks, MA for taking us on this ride!

LA, Who Am I To Love You? on AO3

The second Darry is also from @hd-wireless. This fic, Weapons of Massive Consumption, like the other one has a funness (yes, I know that's not a real word) to it but there's more darkness to this one. Watch the tags on this. Here's the Summary:

Eight years after the war, Harry Potter lives a life of hedonism: raging parties, huge impulse purchases, and seemingly no worries. But it's Draco Malfoy—former Death Eater, lover of blueberry muffins, and bane of coffee shop workers—who starts to wonder if it's all a front, if something's actually terribly wrong with him. Why else would Potter ask Draco, of all fucking people, to write his biography?

What's not mentioned in the summary is that Draco has been away for much of those eight years. He returns from the US changed and is now a writer. What he discovers is that those that stayed are still stuck, traumatized by the war. And now there's Harry, who wants Draco to write his autobiography but then doesn't want him to include any of his bad behaviours. Draco goes along for the ride but finds himself trying to save the hero.

I've read quite a few fanfics dealing with addiction, but this one...this one so rightfully calls out what a disease is and what trauma is. Theo will fricken break your heart. Anyone who's experienced a group of friends who are playing around with alcohol and/or substances will recognize Theo. The one who is damaged more than the others. The one you're not sure can be saved, but you love them anyway. And then sometimes you have to step away.

The fic is not all doom and gloom. LOL When dealing with sex and drugs, there's a lot of fun...until it isn't. As I mentioned at the start, it has so many hilarious bits and scenes to it. One literally had me laughing so hard I had to step away from my computer. Harry is royally pissed off at Draco and takes it out on Draco with a comment to Narcissa in public. You will know it when you read it.

The fic handles the serious subject matter with clarity and love. You will likely recognize yourself or at least some of your friends while reading it. And, yes, Harry and Draco can both be idiots but still come through what life has dealt them.

Weapons of Massive Consumption on AO3

As with all fics I recommend or discuss here, if you read them, please leave a comment. These authors definitely deserve some love.

Okay, way way too long today,

Rom

[wolffyluna]

[slides backwards like Dr Facilier at the end of the Princess and the Frog] No, no, I can't go back!

[the thing I am sliding towards is not hell, but the Silmarilion fandom*]

I have. too many things on my plate. but because i have too many things on my plate, I have reread These Gifts You Have Given Me and remembered:

when I was phasing out of the Silm fandom, I was writing a Celebrimbor/Maeglin fic featuring a grumpy Celebrimbor who is in particular grumpy that Maeglin is no longer making things and is instead partying all the time? and man, that WIP fucked

my ' Celebrimbor is an Angband survivor' idea and man, I have to do something with that. That has legs and they go all the way down to the floor. Celebrimbor stays in Middle Earth because he doesn't want his story to end as 'and his family sucked and then he went to Angband and it was all too much so he had to go West.' Because feeling too tainted for Aman is coming out as 'screw you Aman!' He is working to heal the world and himself and he doesn't see a huge distinction between the two. There's some weird political dynamics surrounding the Gwaith I Mirdain because it's the one polity run by an Angband survivor.

*I feel I should specify I left not because I found the Silm fandom hell-ish or anything, it was just a natural fannish 'to every season turn, turn, turn'

Under the cut is more random ideas to go along with the 'Celebrimbor is an Angband survivor premise.'

Sorry, I'm just ?bouncing? about-- you know the thing where people who other people know were tortured/abused/enslaved/etc get seen as simultaneously pitiful and tainted (and thus to be avoided) and terrifying and tainted (and to be avoided)? Add that to being a Feanorion. Who is deliberately going for political power

And Tyelpe is just being :| and he can't say "how exactly am I going to serve Morgoth on account of his non-existance? How am I going after Silmarils I have no claim to, the most accessible of which is in the goddamn Sea?" Because he knows the one thing people cringe from more than an Angband survivor is one who makes the subtext text And Annatar can ask him about Sauron-- and they've never met, but Celebrimbor is incredibly intimate with his works, shall we say. I love the idea of Tyelpe of wanting to forgive Sauron, but very aware he's only going to be able to do it with the firm belief Sauron could never hurt him again and Sauron is-- somewhere else. But-- he himself has done things For Morgoth because he got backed into a corner. And… he doesn't think that's the case with Sauron, he thinks Sauron was wholly willing, but is he telling himself that to believe that there was a line he wouldn't cross, even if the war of wrath never happened?

And the dynamics with Galadriel-- they're both ambitious as hell, but you have Galadriel from the unstained line of Finarfin, who lived in sheltered Doriath, and you have Celebrimbor, Feanorion who was dragged out of the mines of the Iron Hells at the end of the war.

Celebrimbor, when he's first asked if he wants to go west, has literally just been dragged out of Angband, blinking in the sunlight. And he hears "do you want to be trapped somewhere forever?"

Tyelpe: nO!

It's only later he goes all healing over the world, and also-- he knows a lot of people would be more comfortable if he was somewhere else, but like, a nice somewhere else so they didn't feel bad about wanting him there. And you aren't the son of Curufin who cast him aside if you aren't capable of running on pure spite

Also, I'm somewhat tempted to have Celebrimbor be disabled in one way or another (partially for ~ realism, partially because ~ "make your faves disabled! It's free, it's easy, it's cheap"). Tyelpe with shitty lungs from blowing holes into cores of mountains (… can the Eldar get silicosis?) who is scrupulous about the ventilation in the forges. Tyelpe who made huge strides in insulation so he can store ice from the mountains all year round. (

Annatar gets affectionately told to fuck off when he finds Celebrimbor writing at a desk with ice packs strapped to as many of his joints as possible, and makes a comment about that being a literal king's ransom of ice)

(Celebrimbor also goes on a spiel about how he's working towards a Middle Earth with enough power and knowledge that everyone can get a weighted blanket full of ice, and he means it, he just also means "I want ice to be plentiful enough that no local maia ever comment on how much I go through")

(Other random idea that might be fun: there was a headcanon going around of Angband clipping notches into ears to mark information about its slaves? And I love the idea of Celebrimbor having been in Angband being literally obvious from his face, and people in the know can just Look and Know he was specifically working in the mines as an engineer or something.)

(He wears jewellery in his ears, and people think it's to hide the notches, but no. He's using the notches to do topological things you couldn't do with normally placed piercings. His ears are clipped AND he thinks silver and enamel wisterias look good AND he likes a small scale engineering challenge)

(He wears a lot of jewellery, but it takes people awhile to notice that he'll wear rings and nose rings and earrings and fancy hair pieces, but he never wears anything around his wrists, ankles, or neck)

[fountainpenguin]

I Just Live here- 130 Prompts.

1, 3, 9

[Current Ask game]

"I Just Live Here" - Read on FNN || Read on AO3

--

1: What inspired you to write the fic this way?

I've had the idea for this 'fic for maybe 4 years; its working title was "House Tours With Plot" (a title I've considered recycling several times, so you might see it again someday). For a couple years I considered writing it as a winter solstice holiday piece, but never got around to it.

Earlier this year, I condensed some stray 'fics into 130 Prompts (after retiring some old Prompts drafts I didn't like). This was one of them, so here it is.

I've been wanting to do a piece about Poof's relationship with the Fairywinkles (since, y'know... shady side of the family), so this was a good icebreaker into showing off his lateral freckles and having a run-in with Westley, (plus the "Am I adopted?" convo).

Also I was surprised that Finley was a breeze to write. He may be a grumpy pixie who can't do magic and just wants to play video games forever, but he's a surprisingly fun narrator. He flows really well and I like him.

3: What's your favorite line of narration?

I really like all of Finley's section in particular, but here are a couple highlights:

- I always laugh when people ask what I want my dream job to be. That's cringe, guys. - They can even handle the dry cleaning. I have to do that crap by hand. Please… No way. - "Where's Dad?" I ask, just to irritate him. Me, Palomar, Jardine, and Commelina are basically the only pixies who can get away with calling H.P. "Dad." He's biased towards two on that list, counting them like his children as if he even bothered to raise them. Jardine just can't be tamed. As for me, it's because I don't give a blazing B about what the head honcho thinks of me, and he knows it. - I already miss Foop. He's a total dip, an absolute mess of a person, but he's also my immediate roommate about 90% of the year. - I hate when my desire for malicious compliance falls prey to the need to suck up for good stuff. I pull out my DS again. H.P.'s eyes linger over me like he's debating whether he can get away with telling me that if I have time to game, I have time to take notes on important warehouse crap. 

He has a strong voice and I love him <3

9: Were there any alternate versions of this fic?

The initial prompt associated with the "I Just Live Here" title was Crocker calling Mark's parents to a parent-teacher conference, and Mark requesting Timmy's help. I think that's a strong premise for a story, but... it never really came to me, and I have too much to write without forcing myself to finish a non-essential piece that doesn't inspire me.

In terms of this story's final plot and what came before, I would have been tempted to include Goldie and/or Sammy Sweetsparkle if the draft hadn't ended up at 17k.

Sammy's a changeling (for Bunsen's family, specifically- idk how many people remember that, but in the Riddleverse, Sammy Sweetsparkle and Bunsen are canonically siblings, based on those episodes where they use the exact same dialogue and I think it's funny). But... didn't really know what to do with it considering I was trying to stay under a certain wordcount per character. Not a lot you can do without Mikey, my beloved.

One day I'll post all the Goodness of Misfit chapters I've been sitting on and everyone will be shocked, including me...

Also, I'd also initially planned for Foop's chapter to include him running an obstacle course, but him talking about the teacups took way longer than I thought, so I left it as it was. Plus, I've done obstacle course stories before and they're rough to convey... More of a good visual gag.

Thanks for asking and hopefully that satisfies your curiosity!

[Current Ask game]

[saintlupin]

I hope you enjoy the fic !!! it deeply resonates with me and feels like a huge chunk of my biggest insecurities and strengths are presented it's so weird it's like it was written for me ... maybe I just have a huge ego and think the universe is trying to tell me something even though hey I'm just me

if you don't know him already Douglas Stuart writes the most gut wrenching characters and plots and hey its also gay !

-j (you can at least know the first letter of my name)

i think i will, the premise is very intriguing! i think we find things that resonate with us when we need them to, and i’m glad you were able to find something that spoke to you so deeply :)

i’m not familiar with his work, no. shuggie brain looks good and i think i’ll really like it. tempted to add that and young mungo to my thrift books cart….

(thank you for sharing something to refer to you by, i’m honored)

[hongism]

Hey bestie heeeeeey~

I'm officially caught up with MOC so now I can tell you my feelings~

So, first of all, how dare you? There's no reason for the emotional whiplash I experienced reading this monstrosity (positive with all the love and respect in the world i promise) yet here i am... a further damaged woman lmfao

But forreal though, you have a great ability to pull emotions out of your readers and thats just amazing in my eyes, especially as a fellow writer myself :') theres nothing I love more than making the ppl who read my own fics suffer emotionally so congrats to you!

I love how you write everyone in the story, they are so incredibly flawed and fucked up and human that it just makes me shed a tear. Thats why MC frustrates the HELL out of me, even though I adore her. Her flaws make my ass itch but all i want for her is to heal and be happy in the end (same with the others! I be wanting to punch the shit outta them sometimes 😭)

ESPECIALLY Hongjoong cause my guy is just unhinged but i love his character the most honestly because unhinged is hot to me. Im still kicking my feet and twirling my hair lmao

The relationships are so real and just... messy. Messy messy in the best way. But i just have to cheer them all on.

That chapter when mc and yeosang banged I was quite literally going bonkers like HELLO?????????????? I didnt expect that but now i want more of it cause their dynamic (especially when it comes to wooyoung) is so juicy

MC is such a tragic character and I feel for her the most. I love how we started off thinking Jisung was this great person but turns out that hes a fucking lunatic. You, Caly literally manipulated us into thinking so, like how Jisung manipulated MC and idk if that was intentional or not but it was brilliant. And Hyunwoo turning out to be like *that* was a punch in the gut. MC being betrayed by the ppl she cared for so much makes her question everything on the crew, especially Hongjoong and that's why I cant be too frustrated with her lol

I dont want this ask to be so long cause i can go in about every little detail 😭 but youve dont such an amazing job. The world building is beautiful, and i dont rly read a lot of scifi like fictions set in space, but when i first got into ateez the first thing i thought of were pirates / space pirates and i even started my own fic with that premise bc i cant help myself but be self indulgent trash so 🤷🏼‍♀️ but thats beside the point

I cant wait to read more of this masterpiece and see how things go. I want everyone to be happy cause you are putting them through the fucking ringer 😭😭😭 please go easy on them I cant take more of this 😭😭😭😭

hehe emotional whiplash is my specialty!!! i too am very much damaged after writing moc. and the damage will continue. for the good of the plot!!!

i'm so touched you think so, i really love evoking emotion out of the reader in my works and i'm glad that im effective in doing so <3 one of my goals from the start of writing moc was to create an mc who isn't always likable or enjoyable to read bc i find those sorts of stories unrealistic and sometimes boring, because even tho the setting is very much not real, having characters who do feel real has always been huge to me! i love creating characters who have peaks and valleys, who grow and stumble along the way, and to really show a journey of growth!! hongjoong is just. pure insanity at its finest LOL he's gonna take a lot to fix but we'll see!

i honestly had way too much fun writing that chapter too, i love love looooooove a good hatefuck and it was just too tempting to NOT do >.<

it was fully intentional to sort of bring the readers in on the manipulation yes hehe! i like playing my cards very close to my chest and not giving anything away until the absolute last second i can!!! i think you hit on something lots of people who want her to just give into hongjoong forget - she's experienced so much betrayal from the people she trusted most and that does really stick in the brain and cause lasting trauma, and our poor mc is deeply traumatized by many things that have happened to her! it only makes sense for her to be retaliating and distrustful of those around her in these circumstances!!

thank you so much for enjoying everything so far and for all the lovely compliments they really mean so much to me i cherish them a lot 🥹🥹❤️❤️

[frankenjoly]

Omg thanks for tagging me @cursedvibes 🥰

Rule: 5 favourite fics you've written and pass it on to 5 other writers

Leaving out the ficlets to make things easier (but I'm temped to do something similar for them anyway), and choosing one per fandom for this exact same reason (I'm also tempted to pick my 5 faves for each one of my bigger ones)

Finding Ava. Borderlands 3 au that started with "Finding Nemo with Maya as Marlin, Ava as Nemo and Krieg as Dori would be so funny", then I got tempted and spawned my longest longfic to date. You can tell I wanted more development for a big bunch of characters than what the game gave.

Remnants. I fell deep into the timembomb fandom by watching arcane, then spawned a whole-ass missing scene about pining Jinx and identity and the past. My first time ever writing her, too.

Misread. Me and writing ships from a 3rd character's pov is a love that's growing, and my genshin fic with that premise is this one. Aka, jealuc from Barbara's pov, with a sprinkle of self-doubt.

What do you stand for? This is kinda cheating, since it came from an rp solo thread I turned into fic as well, but. Utahime-centric fic based on her finding her own cursed child and having to be the one directly negotiating with Gakuganji to avoid his execution, with insights on her views, gojohime crumbs and a bsd reference (the kid).

Por el amor de este presidente... My first and rn bigger bsd crack fic, in which both Mori and Fukuchi have beef bcs they both want Fukuzawa back, but will ally to crash every single date he has with any other person in the meantime. Everyone's tired of their shenanigans. Also, the title is way better if you know the song it references, it's very iconic.

Also it's a series already, but shout-out to the dnd-ish au, aka jjk+bsd crossover turned fantasy au bcs I'm never not brainrotted by it, and it's only growing.

Tagging (no pressure as always): @oodlyenough @ildi-dragonheart @monday-headache @rhymbic @noirewaves

[nebulous-library]

Ok so like I had an idea and you write well and I know it’s stupid but here me out.

I need a fic where it’s Adam, Joe, and Cherry from sk8 x gn!reader and the entire fic is just them cock blocking each other. I know it’s really stupid but this sounded at least a little funny in my head.

G o d anon I can just envision it lmao

I imagine being initially one of Joe’s adoring fans, and how could you not be??? Look at him. He’s tall, handsome, shredded better than the beef at Chipotle, and he’s always so friendly and kind! How could you help it when he takes a particular liking to you, cheering him on so enthusiastically during every race, constantly coming up to him afterward and showering him with praise.

Of course, that Cherry Blossom is sure something to behold as well. You’re not blind. You easily pick up on Cherry’s cool and collected vibe. But Joe’s the man for you, the one worthy of your unwavering loyalty.

So when one night as you’re telling Joe just how amazing he is, and he curls a finger under your chin and tilts it up to meet his eyes, filled with a blazing sultriness, and he asks if you have plans afterward, of course you answer with a “no.”

“‘No’?” He’d repeat back to you. “No, what?”

You gulp.

“No, sir.”

“Good. That’s what I like to hear.” He’d chuckle to himself as he releases you from being trapped in his gaze and offer you his left arm to cling to as he escorts you off the premises. What you don’t see is the way he’d look back at Cherry and stick his tongue out, a simple way of bragging that he got to go home with such a hot piece of ass and that loser Kaoru was probably just gonna spend another night alone with his robot.

And it makes Cherry’s blood boil.

So the next time you show up to S walking like a newborn deer over to the herd of Joe’s groupies, and Cherry sees Joe take notice of you and sees the smug look on that meathead’s face, Cherry moves quick and cuts you off. He won’t give you the flattery that Joe might, goodness no. Cherry is much more serpent-like in his approach. He tempts you like Lucifer in the garden of Eden. You don’t see the lower half of his face in his gear, but his eyes tell you everything you need to know. He looks you up and down narrowly, like a snake about to strike. He moves in slowly and steadily, maybe twirls a strand of your hair around his fingers as he leans in and murmurs sweet nothings to you, how your radiance is wasted on a slovenly creature like Joe (derogatory).

Maybe you look in Joe’s direction to see if he’s even noticed that Cherry has taken you under his wing, so to speak, and maybe your heart aches just slightly when you realize he’s caught up talking with someone else.

Cherry takes note of this and will continue treating you like a beautiful flower throughout the evening, until it’s time to call it quits and he’s ready to retire for the evening with you on his arm. He’d look back at Joe, and he doesn’t stoop to childish things like sticking out his tongue — he flips Joe off instead.

And this continues for night after night, these two hotshots both vying for your attention and also looking to piss the other off. But neither of them expected Adam to take notice of their petty little “stop stealing my fans” argument. But, oh, does he ever.

When Adam shows up to S, everyone knows it must be for something huge and important. And that huge and important task was uh, stealing you from his former pals, whose skin he’s looking to get under. And if it means he gets to do that AND bend a pretty little thing like you over his knee and enjoy every yelp when he’s spanking you, then so be it. But oh, he wouldn’t want to get carried away with his thoughts so soon.

Adam would either take the subtle approach and pretend he was there to make some announcement or to throw the gauntlet down and race either Cherry or Joe, OR he would be direct and shine the spotlight directly on you. He’d single you out in the crowd and make a beeline for you, perhaps taking both your hands in his and asking your name. You’d stammer pitifully as his intense red eyes bore into you from behind his flashy mask. He’d repeat your name back to you with an intoxicating air about it. It’d go straight to your knees, but don’t worry, he’ll catch you before you can stumble, press you into his torso, and ask a simple, “Shall we dance?”

This is all such a good thought anon asdjdkgms I may have to noodle with this idea a little more but like, you are truly galaxy braining out here tonight wow. I can’t believe I’d never thought to involve Adam in the idea of Joe and Cherry stealing each other’s fans adjxkgmdm thank you for the idea!!! And don’t u dare come into my inbox and call yourself stupid!!!!! Ur smart and lovely and I hope this is all okay adjskmgzk 🥺💕

[on-a-lucky-tide]

For the wip game: Bear and Otter (plz tell me it’s School of the Bear I will cry) and We Didn’t Start the Fire. I was tempted to ask after Fruits of the Hunt because it’s a stunning work, but @round--robin beat me to it.

Thank you very much for the tag!! I’ll absolutely play once I’m on my laptop ♥️

You get We Didn't Start the Fire, dear Berry. This fic was inspired by this amazing art on Twitter, and it spiralled outwards into a whole thing. We know that young wolf Witchers spent some of their training at the Temple of Melitele; Geralt's education there included writing and arithmetic. I wanted to do something with that.

The basic premise is that Lambert is the last of his year group. Eskel, seeing how bereft and lonely Lambert is, to the point he isn't even being sarcastic, Eskel agrees to be Lambert's escort to Melitele for the season.

I reasoned that there is no way Nenneke would play host to a bunch of rowdy Witcher boys around her own initiates, and would thus demand the presence of an adult witcher to keep them in order (and maintain their physical training regime).

The other schools send their boys too. Same time of year. There are a bunch of hazing rituals, lots of posturing, pranks. The schools clash because of their different approaches; the noble, uptight Griffins, the laid-back, feisty cats. Lambert will make friends with Aiden and Coën here. Eskel will bed both the Griffin instructor (Remy) and the cat instructor (Cedric), because he's bored and horny. That's about as far as the planning has got.

---

The thinly stuffed mattress dipped at Lambert's back and a plate of food appeared at the edge of his blurred vision. "You need to eat somethin'," said a familiar voice, so deep it could've come from the bowels of the mountain.

"Not hungry," Lambert said, his words muffled into his forearms. "Piss off."

Silence followed but Eskel didn't move. His continued presence weighed at Lambert's back, and Lambert couldn't help but listen to the draw of his breath. Eskel acted like an anchor, tugging Lambert out of his own mind whether he liked it or not, and Lambert didn't like that one fucking bit. "If you're here to tell me that it's just the way things are. That he died for a greater cause, I'll–"

"Would it help?"

"What?"

"Would it help if I said those things? Do you want me to say 'em so you can throw a punch? Want me to say 'em 'cause you know half of it's true, and the other half's bullshit?"

Lambert's mouth opened and closed, unable to muster a response as he stared into Eskel's stern gaze. "Then why the fuck are you here?" he croaked out eventually. Eskel wasn't doing what the others had; telling him to snap out of it, or grow up, or sort his head out so they could get to filling it with their 'greater good' and 'destiny' bullcrap.

Eskel scratched at the smattering of stubble on his cheek, his gaze sliding away. "Figured you'd need somethin' to eat." He sighed. "I know what's goin' through your head. Same things were goin' through mine when Geralt–when they took him," Eskel waved vaguely at the wall, "but truth is… doing that would be spittin' on his grave."

"That's fuckin' different, Geralt came back. Voltehre, he's–he's gone. For nothing. For–for this, for–" Lambert suddenly felt suffocated by the medallion around his neck and tore the chain over his head. Eskel watched it sail through the air and land beneath the window ledge. He didn't comment as Lambert's breath hitched and he hid his face against his knees, but rose slowly from the mattress.

"Yeah. It's enough to make you want to jack it all in, but," Eskel's voice hitched as he bent down to pick up Lambert's medallion, "gotta ask yourself. What would Voltehre have done if your places were swapped?"

"What?"

"If you'd died, and he'd lived." Eskel returned to the bed and dropped down at Lambert's side again, reaching out only to steady the plate of bread and cured meat between them. "What would he have done?"

Lambert stared down at the plate even after Eskel's hand had moved away. "Dunno. Cried, probably. He was a baby like that."

Eskel had the wherewithal not to point out the tears staining Lambert's cheeks, but hummed to prompt him on.

"And he'd have to do all his potions work by himself, which he'd piss and moan about. Then–but what does it matter what he would do? He's not here. I am, and–"

"You're right. He didn't get to choose what he would do. 'Cause he's gone. But you, you get to choose what you do from here. Ain't nobody gonna stop you starving yourself to death, or throwin' yourself off a peak. A new set of boys will come trundlin' up that trail come autumn. But you'd be throwin' away an opportunity he never got a crack at."

Lambert glared into space as he sorted through his cherished memories of Voltehre. Every single one felt precious. He had always taken their friendship for granted, especially when they had both survived the Grasses. It had felt like they were invincible. 

Eskel continued, turning Lambert's medallion over in his palm. "You're right. This doesn't mean anythin'. Not on its own. It's the Witcher that wears it that gives it meaning. Geralt made himself a code, you know. Something to live by."

"What about you?"

Eskel smiled, a slightly forlorn twist of the lips. "Me? I do my job, get paid and try to be palatable enough that the good folk of the Continent won't put me down before my time."

[ghostbustermelanieking]

i'd like to hear some headcanons for your "georgie can see dead people" au! :0

oh thank you so much!! this is probably going to be a little messy, since i haven't actually started the fic, but!! here is something!! :) (also i am so sorry for all the sixth sense references. the actual fic will undoubtedly be worse.)

1. So the basic premise of this AU is that the end result of Georgie's encounter with the End is that, instead of losing her ability to feel fear, she gains the ability to see the dead. Everything goes the same otherwise: the protest, Alex, the dead woman, Georgie waking up days later at home, the months of strangeness and unfeeling. The difference is that when Georgie wakes up, she can see the dead woman, too. Never too close—only in corners, behind doors, in the window. And never always, but only in the moments that feel crucial. The moments where she's searching for something of herself. Her mother hugs her and she sees the dead woman over her mother's shoulder. 

Georgie sees Alex, too, sometimes. Closer and more head on; she is always looking back. But she never speaks, and neither does the dead woman from the room. It isn't until she begins to see other ghosts that she realizes they can talk, if they want to. If they choose. 

(Six months later is when Georgie figures out how to lock the dead woman out. She stops seeing Alex shortly after, except on occasion. Sometimes she'll see a flash of those familiar eyes in the mirror, over her shoulder, and they always seem to be apologetic. But Alex still never says anything. Georgie gets good at pretending that this doesn't hurt nearly as much as losing her.)

2. Jon is the first one that Georgie almost tells. Almost. They're honest with each other in a way that Georgie usually isn't, when they first meet, and she almost thinks he'd believe her. They talk about ghost stories all the time. 

She mostly thinks about it when she sees Jon's ghosts. It isn't often but she sees them. He'll talk about what little he remembers of his parents, or pull out some old, faded pictures, and she'll see the faces reflected in the kitchen, the bathroom mirror, Jon's bedroom. He never talks about the apparition of a strange teenager that appears, once, when they both wake up sweaty from frantic nightmares and he refuses to explain, and Georgie doesn't press. He doesn't tell her about Mr. Spider and she doesn't tell him about the ghosts. Much as they love each other, they do still have secrets. 

Georgie goes to his grandmother's funeral years later, even though they're barely talking at this point, and almost tells him then. Seeing him stand mostly alone at the grave, looking monumentally alone, and then a flicker of his grandmother behind him—she almost does. But still she doesn't. She's never told anyone before, and she and Jon aren't really in touch, so she just hugs him and tells him she's so sorry, and doesn't meet the eyes of the woman watching behind the fresh grave. 

3. Melanie is another person Georgie almost tells. They still meet through their connections—Ghost Hunt UK, What the Ghost, and Georgie's power is (probably unsurprisingly) very useful for the paranormal podcast business. (All her episodes aren't pulled from real life, from her own experiences—that would be irresponsible, and there's more clout in retelling familiar stories. But sometimes when Georgie runs out of episode ideas, she'll visit a spooky place, write down what she sees, do a deep dive on the history, and fill in the gaps by attributing her sightings to "unnamed" witnesses.) She's met a lot of people in the ghost hunting business, but Melanie stands out, because they hit it off so immediately. Start hanging out outside of work drinks, at parties or pubs or research stints. Melanie starts inviting Georgie to consult on the show, or to collaborate, and Georgie uses what she sees to point Melanie and her team towards real sightings. Why not? Might as well have the horrible power be useful for something. Haley Joel Osment solved his problem by helping people, and this isn't the same at all (and that's a movie, anyways), but it is something. 

So she and Melanie become fast friends, faster than Georgie is used to, and Georgie genuinely thinks about telling her. She trusts her, and she doesn't think Melanie would laugh, or call her a liar. (Melanie's got stories about not being believed, too; it's common in the paranormal business.) She thinks Melanie might be the right person, maybe. Just maybe. 

(She doesn't end up doing it. She's still a coward when it comes to that. But it isn't because she isn't tempted.)

(The idea to tell Melanie comes before she starts seeing Melanie's father. But that fact doesn't help her decision, either. In quiet moments with Melanie, Georgie starts seeing the man in Melanie's framed photos in the shadows, looking at Melanie with sad eyes, calling her little moth. But Melanie can still barely talk about her dad, and the accident, and it feels even more wrong after he starts showing up, to tell her. Georgie worries Melanie might think she's making fun, or making something up to make her feel better, and she doesn't see this going well.

Instead she says, sometimes, I know your dad loved you a lot. Melanie says, Yeah, I know, too. Georgie says, And I bet he misses you, even though it isn't a bet; she knows. But she can't tell Melanie, and that's as far as it can go.) 

4. The most significant time Georgie wants to tell Melanie, but doesn't, is the one she'll end up regretting the most in the end. When Melanie gets out of the hospital, first, and then when she comes back from India; when Georgie is basically the only friend Melanie has left from her old life, and therefore is probably the person Melanie goes to the most. The person Melanie confides in. 

So Georgie is there to see it all. She'll be sitting across from Melanie in a pub, or beside her on the couch; she'll brush Melanie's hand with hers, or their knees will knock together, and Georgie will see flashes of blood, violence. Hear screaming. She'll see haunted faces out of the corner of her eyes: soldiers, doctors. Muzzles of guns. Once, a stained hand gripping Melanie around the leg. 

She'll regret it, later, but Georgie doesn't say anything; she doesn't know what to say. She's never seen anything like this, even with over a decade of seeing ghosts. How is she supposed to explain it? She doesn't really know what it means. Melanie talks about war ghosts, and Georgie listens, and she rationalizes that Melanie will have to be okay. (She was okay, when it was her, and if—if this is something serious, something worse, than… then Georgie will be there. Melanie will have someone who understands.) 

5. One night in February of 2018, Jon shows up back in Georgie's life, looking shell-shocked on her doorstep. He stands in the hall looking mildly terrified, when Georgie opens the door, and behind him stands a dead woman, looking desperate and furious all at once. 

"Georgie," Jon says weakly. "I-I know it's been a while, but…" 

"Jon! Christ, what happened to you? Are you all right?" Georgie says, trying to take in Jon and the dead woman all at once. (She is new—Jon must have had someone else close to him die.) She focuses on Jon, puts a hand on his shoulder. "Are you hurt?"

"I… I'm fine." Jon's hands twist in front of him. "I… didn't know where else to go."

Georgie swallows hard and says, "Are you in trouble?" The dead woman is looking right at her. Georgie keeps looking at Jon. 

"I… yes." Jon chews on his lower lip. "If… I know it's a lot to ask, b-but I… could I… possibly stay here for a little while?"

Georgie swallows hard. She has a dozen questions—what's happened, why he needs somewhere to stay, why he looks like this—he looks like he's been through emotional turmoil, through hell—and worse, why a dead woman has followed him here. But she doesn't know how to ask these questions. And she can't just turn him away. Jon helped her heal during one of the worst periods of her life, even if he doesn't know it. And she can do the same. 

"Yeah," Georgie says, and leans forward to pull Jon into a hug—tentative at first, and then stronger, when Jon latches on like he needs it. "Y-yeah, Jon, of course."

Jon rambles out a frantic thank you, layered in with apologies and copious promises to pay rent, but it becomes harder to listen. Right over Jon's shoulder, the dead woman is staring right at her, her mouth hanging open. She's got long hair and glasses, and she looks exhausted, and it isn't immediately obvious how she has died, which is unusual. And she's looking right at Georgie. She says, suddenly, "Can you—can you see me?"

It isn't the first time a ghost has spoken to her, but it's a rare enough occasion to be shocking. Her throat is thick with surprise, and she can't say anything in front of Jon, so she just sort of imperceptibly nods. Holds the dead woman's gaze for a moment. 

"Fuck," says the dead woman. "Thank—thank god, thank Christ, I…" She pauses and looks at Jon, then back at Georgie, still numbly hugging Jon there in the hall. "My name is Sasha," she says, and Georgie thinks of the scene in The Sixth Sense where the sick little girl under the blanket asks for help. "Can you… can you help me?"

(send me an au and i'll give you 5+ headcanons)

[bomberqueen17]

here is a delightfully trashy fic idea

ed note: i just found this in my drafts from like..... close to two years ago? anyway it seems a shame to delete it. I have no memory of this and wonder where that draft went.

I published this instead, which is fine but has almost nothing in common with this idea, LOL.

(for Good Omens) I brainstormed this wonderfully filthy wallowy id-tastic fic and even semi-outlined it and then I tried to write it and I’ve got literally 5,000 words with three scene-cuts and zero smut and have wildly deviated from the idea, so I’m just going to release this summary free to a good home so I don’t feel like I have to try to wrestle whatever the fuck I’m writing back on course. It’s not going, it won’t do it. Someone else can write it, if they want, and please do and tell me when you do because I want to read it, but I absolutely am not equal to the task of writing it.

It’s wonderfully angst-filled smut with mutual pining, which is like, my catnip, and it’s nice and dirty, which I also like, and yet somehow, I just can’t do it. 

(Seriously, it’s been a thousand years and Aziraphale is meditating on free will. For fuck’s sake.)

So here’s the premise. I got as far as literally the first paragraph here, and then the whole thing went off the rails, so. Mine’s something else now.

Pretty early on in their acquaintance, pre-Arrangement, Aziraphale stumbles across Crowley in a bad neighborhood among prostitutes, who have recently invented their trade. Aziraphale is righteously offended by the concept, and Crowley defends it, and Aziraphale assumes Crowley invented it for the humans, and of course he did not. 

At any rate, in the course of their discussion (during which Crowley is wile-y [though there’s some great potential for an unreliable narrator here, where the angel is perceiving the demon as being far more seductive than he is actually trying to be, because he is attracted to him and doesn’t understand that] and Aziraphale is righteously but confusedly Into It despite himself), Crowley winds up giving him a demonstration of just what it is that’s so great and why humans would choose this sort of thing of their own free will rather than being demonically wiled into it. 

There’s a humorous instant where they’re both suddenly terrified that angelic emissions might have a holy-water-like effect, but they don’t, and after that moment’s terrified pause during which Crowley doesn’t dissolve and Aziraphale doesn’t get Smitten By Divine Wrath, Crowley dusts off his knees and Aziraphale puts his bits away and they go their separate ways in a sort of mutual well-that-got-out-of-hand embarrassment, each intending never to speak of it again.

Which lasts a while, but not really. Sure, most of their meetings can stay respectable, but every so often, Aziraphale just happens on Crowley in an alley looking shady or whatever, and they wind up repeating it, and Aziraphale tells himself he’s just diverting the demon so he doesn’t tempt any humans, and has zero clue that Crowley is only doing this for him, isn’t actually using his body to tempt humans at all, only shows up in those places because he knows Aziraphale’s going there looking for him in that moment. 

Potential here for a wonderfully sleazy dynamic, of Crowley always passively receiving, taking whatever Aziraphale will give, very clearly not seeking his own sexual gratification at all in this, and Aziraphale never really contemplating just what it is that Crowley’s after instead. (Except maybe in his darker hours thinking the demon is trying to seduce him to Fall, or something, and being a real self-righteous dick about it sometimes.) Maybe, eventually, at some point, Crowley lets it slip that what he gets out of this is that when Aziraphale fucks him he can feel divine Grace again, or something like it, and it gratifies him on an entirely different level than the physical. Maybe he says so and Aziraphale doesn’t understand it, or refuses to really contemplate it. 

Or maybe Aziraphale does get it, and then he’s even worse; instead of being self-righteous about Crowley trying to tempt him, he’s kind of horribly pitying about it, and it’s gross, and Crowley attempts to quit but can’t actually make it stick and before he knows it he’s lurking in the back rooms of clubs again when he knows Aziraphale’s just wandered in the front door. (Potential here for wonderfully juicy angsty sleazy scene of Crowley getting absolutely railed in a pub toilet by a complete stranger he’s trying to pretend is Aziraphale, and then slinking in a desperate haze of lust on his knees to the angel begging for the sacrament only Aziraphale can really give him.) (Right? Right? Argh, I wish I could write this story.) (What I’ve got so far is all strict close Az POV and it’s almost better because you’d only indirectly get that that’s what Crowley’s just done; A would just assume Crowley’d been off doing his demonic job instead of trying desperately to break his addiction.)

[saint-starflicker]

this is 9 days late but if you’re still doing the fic writer emoji asks thing, 👀

Ooo! 👀 Tell me about an up and coming wip please!

I'll tell you about three and a half of them. Basically, expect delays due to historybounding.

The hanahaki thing is turning into an origfic because one character was starting to sound too cynical to stay Peter Simmonds, while the other was starting to be too much of a jerkface to stay Jason McConnell (those that headcanon Jason as a jerk through and through, trust me, he cannot possibly be this much of a jerk—so, new character it is!) This is set in Victorian England, when flower codes were becoming a thing and the gentry/nobility could send each other bouquets of what they wanted to say instead of letters full of words.

I still also want to write another Victorian-era AU, a Sherlock Holmes crossover in the writing style of Arthur Conan Doyle's short stories, in that the situation is the aftermath of BAPO so Holmes and his companion (Victorian euphemism? Is "his companion", you know,) Watson are trying to reverse-engineer what happened at this Catholic boarding school production of Romeo and Juliet that they were invited to watch in the 1880s. There would ideally be parallels between the Peter/Jason/Ivy triangle and Holmes/Watson/Morstan (lattermost a.k.a. Mary Watson).

But the paperback Ian Mortimer Time Traveller's Guide that I ordered back in March that they said I can expect in April at the latest...actually arrived only just last week, in August. I didn't know at the time I ordered it that I would veer into the Victorian, which was why I ordered the Regency era one. But maybe reading this will revive my interest in continuing the BAPO Bridgerton AU.

After writing the hair fic I am very tempted to write my own Time Traveller's Stateside Guide to the mid to late 1990s to 2005 blog post series in case any BAPO fanfic writers want to go historybounding in that era. But I'm already feeling that I won't be inspired to write that until after, maybe, depending on how the setting is written...getting my own copy of Fraternity by Andy Mientus...which, if I order it and the distributors start shipping it to me in September, then I can apparently expect to have it in my hands by next February even if they tell me to expect it in October. I'm old, I need to huff the glue in the book binding or else I can't pay full attention to the story. No hate to people that read ebooks and listen to audiobooks, the thrill of possibly getting papercuts is my personal particularity. But I will definitely also be getting the Fraternity ebook next month because I can't wait until October or February.

After that I shall leave all the aforementioned WIPs unfinished because I shall never again return to the BAPO fandom and its identical aesthetic and vaguely similar premise because BAPO doesn't really have witchcraft and found families. (I'm kidding, there's going to be fanfiction crossovers galore. I am ever so very hype for this book release.)

[therealvinelle]

Hi, you have a list of twilight prompts on your blog that I saw and really wanted to write the prompt about Carlisle turning a patient but I’m not sure if it should be like Post-Canon or an AU. I’m tempted for it to be post Canon so I can also explore your metas on the Cullen coven dissolving. How would you go about writing a fic like this (or in writing fic in general?)

How exciting that you want to write it! I hope you'll link it to me if you end up writing it.

I pictured the prompt as pre-canon when I came up with it. Carlisle grows attached to a patient, he has already turned a few Cullens, and he wants to give this one dying human a new chance. I think the time after Edward returned from his rebel days and before Bella meets the Cullens in 2005 is when he'd be most likely to make this offer, but being the author of a fic means you're god and can do whatever you want.

What I would do (not at all what you need to do) is write it from either the patient or Carlisle's point of view, if it's the patient then they contemplate their approaching demise and the curious doctor who has such compassion for them, and if it's Carlisle then there's the main question of what makes this patient special.

As for how I go about writing fics in general, I'm happy to talk about it but you should know that everyone is different, what works for me may not work for you. It's like cooking, we all have our unique way of doing it and the results are vastly different but no apprach is inherently superior to another.

With that in mind, for me fics start out with an idea that then, like a virus, starts multiplying itself ("ooh, and then X happens! And then Y will have to happen too! And I'll have to include Z!") until I have something that feels like a story that I want to write. Of course, most of these never make it into an actual fic, or at least they're in my "To do, maybe, probably, hopefully" pile. Whether a fic idea becomes a fic depends a lot on difficulty degree too. Yesterday's reader insert request, for instance, was an ask I was just going to delete until inspiration unexpectedly struck, and then I banged it out in about an hour. Point being, planned fic =/= published fic.

As for actually writing a fic... what I do is I map out the plot first, what I want to happen over the course of the story. Looks a lot like the "what if" scenario tumblr posts the Muffin and I often post on our blogs, where we go through a story step by step.

After that I figure out how to tell the story. Who's the narrator, how are they telling the story, where does the story start and how much do they know. It starts at the higher level with "I want Carlisle to narrate this story" and then ends up at the more detailed level of "I want this scene to begin in the hospital room, with Carlisle recognizing the patient is dying, contemplating whether to make the offer. He decides to do it, the patient thinks he's insane and calls security. Carlisle is forcibly removed from the premises. End scene, the Cullens are packing their things and everyone is upset with him."

Obviously this example got a little silly, but I hope you get my drift. I'm a planner kind of gal, and it has served me well.

This applies to whether/how to write it as an AU or post-canon too. Figure out what story you want (use the Marie Kondo approach: does your idea spark joy?) and then where you want it to go.

Hope this was a helpful ramble!