#did i need to post a 2k snippet?

[hystixia]

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i never thought i’d have to do this but my living situation has gotten increasingly worse and i am facing being potentially homeless sooner rather than later. i don’t have a job due to no sort of transportation and any money i had originally saved up has been pocketed by my parents and i am unable to get back nor am i even allowed to touch the money i did rightfully earn. so i am reaching out in this way to make some sort of money to get by and survive at this point. any type of help is greatly appreciated and i thank you for even reading this at all. it means a lot :,)

-> PAYMENT METHODS <-

my cashapp is $hystixia

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cashapp & paypal are the only ways of sending payment at the moment. these are the only options for commissioning for now.

-> COMMISSION DETAILS <-

commissions will always be open. there are no slots or deadlines to meet to get a commission. feel free to get one whenever and if u want to!! if you’re interested in commissioning please read the details below and dm me!! dms are always open for any questions during the process as well so don’t be scared to ask abt anything to do with your commission! :)

will do: nsfw, sfw, dark content, long fics/oneshots, chapters ( for more info check below ) + potentially more. can be discussed in dms!!

$10 for 1k words, $20 for 2k words, etc. every thousand words is $10 basically. if it goes over the commissioned amount (example: you pay for 2k but it’s nearly 3k by the end of it) you will not be charged extra.

if you would like to see chapters for rampage come out sooner you can also send tips ranging from $5 or more to help out in small ways and also get more chapters way quicker!

payment is sent after discussing details and specifics + a rough short draft/snippet is shown to confirm that you’re satisfied with what you will receive in full. commissions may take anytime between a day to a couple weeks. like i mentioned before i’m struggling terribly right now and so its even harder to find time to write but i promise i will get any and all commissions out as as i possibly am able to!!

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i’m sure i’m probably missing some things as i’ve never had to do this and i’m sure this is terribly formatted and set up so i do apologize for the sloppy format :,) i do however appreciate all of you for all the support you’ve given me thus far and i am sorry for coming to u all in such a way. i never thought i’d be in this position but here we are. if you’ve read this far i thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking time to read through all of this. any type of help is appreciated whether its thru commissions, tips, reblogs or anything of the sort. i appreciate every single one of you for all you’ve given me :,) you truly have no idea the impact u’ve all left on my life since i first started writing fics on tumblr. i hope u all have a wonderful day/night wherever you are <3

[stardusthuntress]

To Speak Without Words - Ch. 1

Crosshair x female!reader (she/her pronouns for now, might get spicy later) 

Word Count: ~2k 

Tantis Rescue AU! I’ve had this idea for ages, and now that S3 has rescued Omega and Crosshair it dawned on me that I never actually posted this one! Seems like there’s no better time to post it than now! (also: TECH LIVES!!)

Summary: (mini-series) Crosshair starts to fall for the woman he’s rescued with. She has learned to read him easier than just about anyone else he’s ever met. He learns her too. 

TW: Crosshair has PTSD, and Hunter is still learning how to deal with it. Speaking of, it starts with a flashback to a torture scene… while Crosshiar is still in Hemlock’s custody (well, Hemlock thinks it’s more like ownership, but who needs his opinion anyways); I do mention that they both get back in the fight later, but it’s not a big focus, comparitively

A/N: So, I’ve had this for ages, but I thought I needed more to it before I posted it… turns out it’s pretty complete as is! And now that we’ve actually gotten to see the Tantis exfil and Crosshair and Omega return to the gang, I realized I really needed to just post the darned thing! I just want to say, I didn’t change this to fit anything from S3, it’s been written like this for ages, I just fixed some typos before I posted it, so S3 has not been an influence here! 

PS. This is my FIRST Crosshair fic on here!!! WHOOOOOO!!!

PPS. I promise I'll get back to the "Right Attire" posts soon! Just needed to get this one out of my WIPs!

Crosshair banners from @/djarrex, hyperspace banners my own!

He’s barely conscious. Voices enter the room. All are familiar, but not in a good way. But only one has a name he can vaguely remember, something to do with something deadly, like a poison… Hemlock! That was his name. The name sank like a rock in his mind, and took his stomach with it. Nothing good was coming, that was for sure. 

But one was new. A female. She seemed as upset as his stomach felt. But despite how queasy he felt, this he needed to see, to understand why she was here and whether he knew her. 

Slowly, he opened his eyes. At first, everything was a blur… gradually, his eyes focused on her face. He’d never seen her before, but the fear and pain he saw on her features was more than familiar… and then the memory faded…

Snippets of other memories flash through his mind, all out of order. His mind is beginning to block out large chunks of his captivity… 

Hemlock’s voice broke through the haze of it all, “I see those paternal instincts your batch mates displayed still exist, but unfortunately, I need the little girl for another experiment.” He turns to the TK’s standing guard, “Remove her from the room.” Then turns back to Crosshair lying on the table, “Let’s see what other animalistic emotions you tend to display. I know you recently gave up your disdain for, what did you call them, ‘Regs’? How about the civilians you thought you were protecting?” Hemlock once again turns towards the guards in the hallway, “bring the woman in.” 

Flashes of moments of both of their agonies as they both did their best to conceal their ‘animalistic tendencies’, as Hemlock put it, flash through Crosshair’s mind. Doing their best not to become attached to the person at the other end of the table, but the need to protect them was as inevitable as if they had been sharing a bunk. 

She’d been dozing off against her corner of the cold, hard table, sitting on the floor, arms chained to the corner above her. 

Crosshair was sitting across from her, attached to the foot of the table in much the same manner, doing his best to stay awake while she slept. They always took turns, so they’d have warning when Hemlock showed up. 

She woke up with a start when Crosshair nudged her with his foot. She looked at him, bracing for bad news, but he simply nodded towarads the door. 

“Shield!” Crosshair announced, he could see the corridor more clearly than she could from his spot at the foot of the table. 

She reacted instinctively, knowing that word meant protecting her face and neck as best as she could. No sooner had she done so than the wall that had been blocking her view of the corridor was blown away in a blast that rocked the whole room. 

When the dust settled she found a rough-looking man staring Crosshair down. 

Her head was still ringing from the blast, but it seemed like the man was mad at Crosshair. 

Hunter looked down at Crosshair’s battered form, leaning wearily against the wall. “One question for you brother… why? Why did you aim it at me before rescuing the kid?” 

There was a pause, while a disgruntled man with a device wrapping around the back of his head knealt down and began drilling away at the cuffs restraining Crosshair. 

“I could ask you the same question.” Came Crosshair’s venomous reply. 

Both men tensed, like they were preparing for a fight. 

“NO!” She shouted, tugging against her restraints, reaching for Cross with her feet in a meager attempt to shield him from the wrath of the long-haired man. 

“Here, lemme help you, little lady,” a voice spoke up from beside her, and thick arms reached around her and took ahold of the cuffs around her wrists, easily ripping through the restraints anchoring her to the table, snapping the cuffs in half without hurting her wrists at all. But she barely noticed, as soon as she was free she launched herself across the room and put herself between Crosshair and the tattooed man. 

“NO.” She said firmly. “Don’t hurt him.”

“I wasn’t going to, Sweetheart. He’s my brother. Just wanted to knock some sense into him, that’s all.” 

“Don’t. Touch. Him.” She backed up towards Crosshair, stumbling, barely able to keep herself on her feet, until her back bumped his chest. Crosshair’s hand found her shoulder, and she knew it was an attempt to steady them both. 

“I won’t hurt him.” The tattooed man said. “I promise. I’m Hunter by the way. What’s your name, Hun?” 

Crosshair’s grip on her shoulder tightened. A warning. Both to her and Hunter. Reminding them both that she had Crosshair’s protection. 

Hunter raised his hands to emphasize his point, “I won’t hurt either of you. But we gotta get you both out of here, it’s a long way, and neither of you look so stable on your feet.” He held out a hand in offering, but the two clung tightly to each other. Strange. Crosshair prided himself of never needing anyone, even his brothers. Clearly, they were used to only having each other and a hard time. Hunter retracted his hand. “I’ll be with you the whole way, I’ll do my best to catch you if you fall.” 

She glanced over her shoulder at Crosshair. He’d never told her about his squad, but Hemlock had done his best to pry information about them from him. She knew who they were, and that Crosshair refused to tell anyone about them, but she didn’t know why. She didn’t know if he still trusted them. One nod was all it took to confirm that they were ok, but the anger in his eyes, as he stared Hunter down, told her volumes. 

Days later, Crosshair and Hunter end up in a big argument, no one caught how it started or why exactly, but she can’t stand it. She has to step in. 

“But you still don’t SEE him, Hunter!” 

“You wouldn’t know. You weren’t there.” Hunter defends, his words heavy with his own pain. 

“I know— “

“—She knows.” Crosshair’s reply is curt, angry, and pained, and Hunter notices he won’t hold eye contact anymore, but he’s not sure why. He thinks it has to do with that annoying need to get attention only to ignore it when he does have it. 

“Hemlock had security camera footage,” she says quietly. 

Hunter’s cold, angry exterior begins to soften. “I take it he used it against… when he…uhh…” 

“Sorta,” she confirms. 

Crosshair is staring pointedly at one spot on the ground. There’s nothing there. But he can’t look at anyone right now. Not when thinking about what the two of them went through back there. 

She puts a hand on his arm. 

He tenses beneath her touch, but doesn’t push it off. 

She steps forward, slowly, and leans her head against his temple. 

“We’re both safe now,” Hunter can hear her whisper to him. “I’m okay now.”

What was that second thing she’d said? I’m okay now? Hunter’s mind was reeling. That wasn’t what he was expecting her to say. Had he heard her right? For once, he questioned his heightened hearing. 

She turns the conversation back on Hunter to take the attention off of Crosshair so he has a moment to breathe and return to himself. 

“Hunter, listen, I know you want Crosshair to communicate more. But you know Crosshair prefers to use actions to communicate instead of words. And yet when he does use actions to communicate, you ignore them.”

Hunter is stunned into silence. He has no idea what to say nor what to look for. 

She continues, “You said he aimed his blaster at you before rescuing Omega from the wreckage, and yet you did the same thing back in the training room, right before they destroyed everything.” 

She still pets Crosshair’s head and neck, as he hides his face in her neck, “You said Crosshair didn’t care about any of you, even the kid, after he chose the Empire, and yet he still managed to get a message to you, plan 88, remember?… he was caught and tortured immediately after.”

On her shoulder, she can feel Crosshair’s breathing returning to a normal, slower pattern, but he still needs more time, so she continues, “You know Crosshair never misses his mark, he keeps his target in the crosshairs, hence the name. And yet, whenever he found himself fighting against you boys… well, you’re still here. Doesn’t that tell you a lot?” 

Hunter is staring at his brother now, worry on his face as Crosshair begins to surface from the woman’s shoulder, but she’s not done yet. 

“Do you know how long he waited on that platform on Kamino before the Empire found him? Do you know what it’s like to have that much time alone with your thoughts, and yet he still warned you with plan 88. And you weren’t there when he disappeared in the ice and snow on a frozen world, returning a few days later nearly frozen to death with a dying reg on his shoulder, and then ending his commanding officer when the reg died because no one gave him medical care.” 

Crosshair’s eyes were misty and distant as he turned his body towards Hunter, though he still refused to look at him. “He saved me first.” Was all he said. 

Hunter stepped forward slowly, placing a hesitant hand on Crosshair’s shoulder and raising his eyebrows to tell him he did want to hear more. 

“I stepped on a mine. He saved me first. We were the last troops stationed at the outpost.” 

“Just two men to protect an entire outpost?” Hunter asked, trying to understand what his brother had gone through and what the empire’s strategy was in it. 

“Raiders wiped out the rest. Empire refused to send more. I was the last—” but Crosshair’s voice broke on the last word, he couldn’t finish it. 

Hunter stood there, confused and startled. He’d never seen Crosshair like this. He’d seen him mad and upset as a cadet, but never like this. 

The woman gently tugged Crosshair back towards her so she could whisper in his ear. 

“Then it’s a good thing you’re still here to remember him, to remember them all. Even the ones you never met. I know we can’t get them back, but we can remember them and what they mean to us, regardless of whether we tell anyone else about it.” 

He nodded, and once again hid his face in the crook of her neck as fresh waves of emotion silently racked his body. 

Hunter watched, helplessly. He didn’t know what to do. Until she yanked him over by his wrist, and dragged him to sit down on the floor with Crosshair between them. 

Unbenounced to the three of them, the others had been hiding just out of sight, but close enough to listen in. Tech got up from his spot, crouched beside Wrecker and Echo in the dark hallway, and quietly walked over to the tangle of limbs. Without saying a word, he took off his chest plate and sat down behind Crosshair, their backs pressing together. 

Crosshair did not react, nor give any signal of acknowledgment, but he didn’t need to. Right now, he just needed to let it out. 

After a moment or two, Wrecker and Echo entered too, each doing the same as Tech, joining the group without saying anything, just there, leaning against each other. Even little omega emerged from her room and snuggled in between Hunter and cross, Lula tucked in her arms. 

It took Hunter a long while to think through what he could say that would help, if anything actually could… until he finally settled on a simple sentence, hoping it would be enough. 

“I’m so sorry I was so blind to what you were trying to say, Brother.” 

Crosshair’s grip on Hunter tightened. 

Hunter took that as a good sign. 

“I’ll try to do better,” he offered. 

They woke in the morning, still in a giant cuddle pile on the floor of the ship….

Please don’t steal my work! I pour my heart into these so if you like it please reblog to share instead of reposting it! And NO dropping it into an AI to finish it for me! That’s stealing my work and feeding it to an AI without my consent. It is not okay to give an AI something you didn’t write yourself! 

[thelonelyshore-if]

The 2k gift Jay POV was amazing. I liked it a lot. It is indeed very spoilery, I didn't expect to learn that much about Ravi.

Also, I loved that on the stats you put Jay's data. It's so fun to see. It's such a great detail, I wasn't expecting it, even though it makes complete sense. It was fun to see how my MC and Jay have similar personality stats too.

I think you had a great balance on telling information we didn't know yet, but Jay and Ravi would have, while also keeping most of the mystery. Basically, I have more questions than answers now. Which is great.

Also, I love getting inside the head of other important characters in IFs. It's always so interesting. As someone who is romancing Jay, is so great to see how he personally sees the world. How self sacrificing he is. How he is someone you can rely on. It's also wonderful to be able to see more of Jay's daily life and his worries. How decidedly and stubbornly optimistic he tries to be. He is so admirable.

Sorry for using male pronouns, I normally use neutral, but I always play with male Jay. I don't know if there is a difference between female Jay and male Jay on this 2k gift. Yet I wanted to establish that.

I do wonder, however, what do you plan to do with these gifts, if you make more in the future, once the game goes to be published officially (with Hosted Games, or any of the other variants, I'm not too knowledgeable on the subject)? Will you add it as extra content, maybe accesible once the game is finished once? Or is something that you cannot define yet?

Aw, thank you!!

I was really excited to start digging into Ravi stuff. Especially writing how Jay sees him and how they feel about it all. A lot of what was revealed is filtered through Jay's POV; I'm excited for you all to see what Ravi has to say about it in the future, too!

And yess I'm so glad you saw the stats page!! I thought it would be a fun little detail, and it was a blast on my end to try and figure out what Jay's stats would be.

Honestly I'm thrilled you have more questions than answers. I was hoping that would be the case; that I'd reveal some things but leave a lot of it still unexplained.

It's lovely reading your Jay thoughts; I'm glad you enjoyed seeing inside their head. No need to apologize for using specific pronouns, either. When it comes to the gender selectable characters I don't mind if folks default to which they usually play with c:

Jay's genuinely one of my favorite ROs. I can't wait for y'all to see a little deeper into Jay and their life and their struggles--I'm happy that the snippets you did see were enjoyable!! They have a lot going on, and it's going to be fun to explore it as time goes on.

As for your final question, I'm unsure!! I don't know if the extra content is something I'd package with the final product; but I think it's too early for me to say anything definitively. What I've posted will always be available on this blog, though, and at some point maybe I'll figure out a way to put it all in one place.

Thank you so much for your kind words and for sharing your thoughts! I hope you continue to enjoy <3

[veephoenix]

INTO THE ABYSS OF BAD HABITS

UPDATE + 1.8K SNIPPET ✧.*

This started off as a one-piece idea and now i'm writing two more added parts and an epilogue. Considering that they're all going to be quite long and that I'm not sure I'll have them ready by the end of the week, I'm sharing a nearly 2k snippet with you all (the text is not beta read, so it might change a bit when I post the final piece) ☺️ Again, sorry for the long wait. I promise it'll be rewarding! ✨

I started preparing breakfast, not aiming to disturb their sleep, but the soft hum of the coffee machine and the clinking of plates and cups echoing in the open kitchen stirred Noah from his slumber. On the other side of the sofa, Oliver lay sprawled on his back, his hair tousled. As the deep sleeper he was, he only stirred slightly before settling back into his restful state. 

            I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself. It seemed that at least one of us managed to get some decent rest, even if it was on the couch.  

            As Noah propped himself up on his forearms, his gaze drifted over to Oliver’s form, then down to the middle of the sofa where their legs lay entangled, hidden beneath the shared blanket.  The sight of their bodies occupying the entire sofa would have brought a smile to my lips were it not for the reason why they had spent the night there. I could only imagine them moving around and kicking each other during the night, adding another silly unnecessary thing to the pile of stuff they had been arguing about the evening before. 

            With a heavy sigh, Noah finally sat up and ran a hand through his face and hair.  

            “Morning,” he grumbled.

            “Morning,” I replied. 

            Noah took a quick bathroom break. When he came back, he walked with deliberate steps to where I was standing in the kitchen. He leaned in for a morning kiss that I was more than quick to give. He lingered by the kitchen isle to watch me make breakfast, accepting the coffee mug I offered and taking a sip while keeping his eyes on me. 

            “I expected you guys to come to bed at some point,” I said in a low voice, trying to conceal the twinge of hurt I felt at the fact that they had opted for sleeping on the couch instead of addressing their issues and joining me in bed. 

            “I wanted to,” Noah said, his voice tinged with regret, “but you made it clear that we needed to sort things out first, that you didn’t want us in bed with you if we didn’t, so…”

            I clicked my tongue, shaking my head. I placed my hands on the edge of the counter, exasperation crawling back to my bones. 

            “You know it wasn’t meant like that,” I sighed. “I was just trying to nudge you both into dealing with the real problem.”

            His silent response and the heaviness of his brown gaze on me confirmed my dreaded suspicion—he still wasn’t ready to. He still didn’t want to talk about it. Great.

            “Did you miss us?” He suddenly asked, breaking the silence. 

            Typical Noah. Whenever he knew he’d messed up, he’d try to sidestep the issue with softness instead of facing it head-on. I couldn’t help but be surprised that even after the heated argument we’d had the day before, he was still reluctant to confront the elephant in the room. 

            But when he looked at me with those puppy-dog eyes, I suddenly became weak. 

            “Every minute,” I admitted, a bittersweet smile forming on my lips. “I couldn’t sleep. I’m used to being sandwiched between you two now. I kept checking my phone, hoping for a text, and waiting for both of you to show up at the bedroom door,” I shook my head. “God, I’m turning into such a sap.”

            My words elicited a laugh from him, one of my favorite sounds in the morning.  

            “You’ve always been a sap,” he teased, leaving the coffee mug aside and pulling me close until his hands found my waist. With no effort at all, he lifted me onto the counter. 

            Grinning, I wrapped my arms around his neck, running my fingers through the silky hair at his nape. He stepped between my legs, and I relished in the familiar warmth of his body against mine in the chilled morning.  

            “Did you talk?” I inquired softly, obviously referring to him and Oliver. 

            “Not much, to be honest,” he admitted. His forehead found mine as he leaned in. “I don’t know what to do.”

            Allowing a moment for him to relax in my arms, I gently brushed a loose strand of hair from his forehead after pulling back to meet his eyes. 

            “I know you two are aware that this is not a relationship based solely on you two dating me,” I began, my voice tender. “We’re all in this together. We’re all dating each other. But you and Oli are struggling to come to terms with it,” I made a pause, my eyes boring into his, “or with what it means.”

            A flash of insecurity crossed Noah’s face, his usual self-confidence momentarily faltering. My heart ached for him.  

            “I’ve never been with a man before, baby,” he confessed, his voice barely above a whisper.  

            I nodded, understanding without him needing to explain. Of course I knew. 

            “I had never been with two men,” I started to say, reaching out to touch his cheek gently, “but here I am, utterly in love and happy with both of them,” I tried to summon a reassuring smile, but Noah’s insecurity lingered, prompting me to continue speaking. “It was scary at first. I spent weeks worrying about what would happen, especially when we flew back home after Europe. But everything is so wonderful now, and I wish to keep it that way, but for that, we need the whole package, Noah. And that includes you and Oliver giving each other what you’re missing out,” I playfully bopped his nose, but he flinched, giving me an annoyed look. All right. “Also, I don’t think Oli’s ever been with another man, either” I added, glancing toward his sleeping form on the sofa. “So, it would be a first time for both of you.” 

            “Would you… like that? Oli and me?” Noah’s voice wavered with uncertainty. 

            I reached for a biscuit from a plate beside me, taking a bite and chewing slowly. After licking some crumbs from the corner of my lips, I casually rubbed the heel of my socked foot against the back of Noah’s thigh.

            “I’ve been thinking about sitting in the armchair in the bedroom and watch you and Oliver do nasty things to each other,” I said with a mischievous grin. 

            Noah narrowed his eyes at me.

            “You’re a naughty girl, you know that?”

            His teasing remark brought back a sense of normalcy, making me feel a bit relieved for the first time that morning after a restless night. 

            “So I’ve been told,” I replied nonchalantly, taking another bite of the biscuit. 

            Noah took the remaining biscuit from my hand and returned it to the plate before kissing me slowly, his hand cupping my cheek and his fingers tucking my hair behind my ear as our lips melded together. 

            “It’d make me really happy to see you together,” I said, placing my hands on his face and pulling back slightly to meet his gaze directly, “but I know it would make you and Oli even happier. You’re hungry for each other. I’ve seen it in the way you look at him and the way he looks at you. The sex is amazing, and we’re all satisfied, but you’re just dying to taste him and you’re too shy to make a move. Same with him, which is unusual,” I continued, drawing out my words as I shrugged my shoulders, “given how carefree he is with everything he says and does, including those impromptu cat walks when he’s wearing that silly maid outfit.” 

            We shared a laugh, the tension dissipating further before indulging in another lingering kiss. This was Noah’s way of seeking reassurance, and I was more than happy to oblige and give it to him. I would give him as many kisses as he needed. 

            “This is where all this tension is coming from”, I concluded, my voice softening once again. 

            Noah’s chest rose with a heavy sigh that said he finally admitted it. He released the breath he had been holding just as Luna appeared at our side, her eyes pleading for her morning walk.

            “Can you wait a bit, darling? We’ll take you out in a few minutes,” I said to her. 

            “I’ll take her out now,” came Oliver’s unexpected voice. 

            Noah and I startled at the interruption, Noah moving away from me as if caught in something criminal. Despite reaching out to him, my eyes focused on Oliver. 

            Oliver excused himself to go to the bathroom before I could open my mouth. He was still upset about what happened the night before, and I guess he didn’t like seeing me in Noah’s arms first thing in the morning, especially since that’s what started the arguments the day prior. 

            I reminded myself to stay calm. I’d have to go through the same talk with him to get him to the same place where Noah was.   

            “Oliver,” I said, my voice gentle yet firm. 

            “What?” came his response, edged with tension. He avoided looking at Noah. 

            Seeing them like this broke my heart and infuriated me simultaneously.  

            “You and Noah need to talk. Right now,” I said, my tone leaving no room for argument. 

            The whole situation was dripping with irony. I wanted to shout back at Oliver all the things he had preached about before we started this relationship—all that talk about communication being paramount to make this work. Where was all that now? 

            “We can talk later,” he replied, attempting to evade the conversation by calling out for Luna, who happily trotted towards her dad, tongue out and tail wagging. 

            “No,” I asserted, holding my ground. “You two are going to talk right now,” I insisted, positioning myself at a fair distance between both so it wouldn’t seem like I was taking sides.  “I swear, if either of you keeps dragging this out without reason, I will get on the first flight back to Los Angeles. So, decide right now. Do you want me to leave?” I directed the question to both of them. “Or do you want more? What’s it going to be?” 

            Oliver dropped his shoulders in resignation, a small victory amidst the tension. Noah was standing behind me. I could tell that he was ready to get it together and be honest with Oliver and with himself, but he would keep holding back until it was clear that Oliver was in the same boat. 

            Setting Luna’s leash down in the kitchen isle, Oliver caused Luna to drop her tail and tilt her head in confusion. Wasn’t he going to take her out? I made a mental note to go out with her later for a long walk, but right now, Oliver and Noah needed to have the conversation they’d been avoiding for months. 

             Oliver let himself fall onto the sofa, pushing the blanket that he and Noah had used during the night to the side without bothering to fold it. His green eyes met mine. Then, his gaze finally shifted to Noah. 

            “Come here,” Oliver said to Noah, patting the spot next to him. 

[notquiteaghost]

fic time!! posting smth ive had written for two (2) years in hopes it'll allow me to write more of it

2k, canon divergence post-chapter 13 of the mandalorian to the tune of What If Cody Is There. codywan, pre-bobadin, force ghost obi-wan. sequel to my post-o66 codywan tatooine reunion. confirmation that reunion doesn't result in any pre-empire strikes back canon divergence.

snippet:

And that, of course, is when the Mando turns up.

Cody walks into Annileen's store expecting gossip and maybe that case of whiskey Fluke promise, and instead, sat at the bar is someone in full beskar Cody's never seen before in his life.

Annileen raises both eyebrows at him. He raises them back.

The Mando – better be a Mando, Cody's not carrying his good blaster and Annileen gets real annoyed when anyone has it out on her land – turns to look at Cody, and says, "Ahsoka Tano told me you know a Jedi."

"Shab'tion gar liniba jetii?" Cody retorts. The fuck you need a Jedi for?

The Mando tilts their head to an impressed angle. "Tion gar Mando'ade?" You're Mandalorian?

Like they don't know he's a clone just from looking at him.

"I speak shit pidgin Mando'a," Cody says, "And the only Mand'alor I know is marching on. But sure, yeah, I've bled enough for my vod'e. Where in all the oceans did you wash up from?"

read the rest on AO3 here

[shinakazami1]

"Love is stored in (un)familiarity": Rhack snippet based on my TFTBL AU

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/58404214

less than 2k words This is a snippet of a bigger AU, at the happiest moment of it :^) but before we get there, it will take quite a bit so, I thought I would post this already!

Rhys' bad tastes and Jack being a sweetheart,,,

===

"Heyyyyyy-- pumpkin?" "Yeah, Jack?" Rhys looked over the kitchen counter, trying to remove a stain from the unwanted Skag guest. "What's the question for the day?" "Oh, well I wanted to ask you what you want for dinner but, if you're so insistent - what's your favorite ice cream flavour?" 

Rhys stared down at the man. The last few 'daily questions' were a bit more stimulating. How he got the prosthetic, what it was like to be an Atlas CEO, had he kept the Jack AI, some heavy stuff in general. This felt like a trap, but one that was most welcome. 

"I don't like ice cream. I like frogurts way more." 

Jack stared back at him, waiting for him to continue. The man's face, frozen solid, was enough for Rhys to know something was up. This state was only a few seconds long but that was still more than wanted. The sudden drift to a salesman's smile was also not a sign of everything being okay.

"OK, if you have such a blast destroying your taste buds, tell me at least what knife you're using. I need to know if I should ever let you cook or not. I feel if you'd try to poison me, you'd actually make me healthier, knowing your-" "Chocolate dill pickle." 

Jack seemed frozen solid for longer than before. But something was... different. This exact scenario happened a few times before already but, every time, it left Rhys a bit on the edge. He could imagine the big hands wrapping around his trachea and snapping it if they wanted to. It felt like a matter of time, even if the man before him hadn't made such a gesture before. The eyes were the key difference. They weren't, like a moment ago, staring through a fog at the world surrounding them. The small shines and the relaxed brows didn't keep Rhys off his guards, but they did make him wait for something.

He didn't expect laughter. Not just any laughter - a whole fit. A maniac, full, from the chest, belly moving, spine bending laugh. Hands flying, from thighs to the forehead, to waving in the air, as the big, loud, manic laughter, continued. It caused Rhys to relax - Jack probably was imagining the taste and while he loved it, Jack probably hated even the mental image of it. Something, about watching this man laugh to such an extent, made the warmth spread in Rhys' chest. It was not perfect but, it was nice. It felt like they were used to this. And - to make that happen, Rhys decided to be more confident and say something more. 

"You can't judge a good frogurt just by some mediocre tastes! Why do you need a vanilla when you have Last Night Midnight? It was a limited edition taste that had ingredients making -" "You're not him!" 

Barely, through a dying laughter, Jack, with the help of a chair he was holding on, got those words out of his mouth. Scared, a bit disappointed, Rhys could only stare at the man as he still fought through the teary cackles. Jack, with his hard-working diaphragm, barely got any words out. 

"It's cus-oh, oh kiddo, oh my god - it's not him! My Rhysie - man! Ah, oh my - - loves some citrus-- Cheesy Lemon Zest--lord! Kiddo, oh God your taste is so shit - - Chocolate Flush the most!" 

Rhys let Jack slowly get out of the torturous laughing tone. The warmth was no longer making him flutter. It felt embarrassing, it felt sad and burning through everything he's done wrong till then. If not for him... 

"You're not him." Jack panted, sweat slowly dropping off his forehead. 

It was true. He was not him . 

And it made Rhys feel stupid for being so happy hearing that.

===

For the rest of the evening, Jack spent the time in the kitchen. The new policy of not sleeping together made Jack quite insomniac but, Rhys felt he shouldn't comment on that at all. It felt like a very important thing for him to do by himself. Still, Rhys couldn't stop being worried for the man. Especially after Rhys wasn't let in the kitchen. 

The first sign was Jack telling him to get busy and just do things around the house. Then, it was him not being allowed to even brew some coffee. After enough pestering, Jack made him some and closed the door, telling Rhys he couldn't come to the kitchen for some time. Thinking it was a bad prank, hungry for a snack, Rhys attempted to get to the kitchen with no fruition, especially since he didn't get the fruit he wanted. Being told 'later, kiddo' and given a banana made him feel like he was back at school but he tried his best to not show how it annoyed him. Jack's comments about poutiness not being the stronger weapon said he sucked at it. 

The worst, however, was the moment Jack smashed the door in his face when he was trying to sneak in and take a slice of the pizza they had for dinner. Annoyed, hungry and tired, through the door, he told Jack if he wanted to cook some pot, the kitchen was the WORST place for that type of cooking. Instead of any of the typical Jack-making remarks Rhys expected to hear, the man opened the door, checked his nose he even forgot he was holding, and gave him a heated-in microwave two pizza slices and soda with three ice cubes. 

Apologies coming from that man's mouth felt still like a fever dream - too face-warming. Too weird. But it was important to hear and receive.

"I'm just making something atrocious in the kitchen. Smells horrible - so I'm doing you a favour, Rhysie. Don't stay up too late, we have a few things to do tomorrow." 

Nodding in agreement, Rhys stood up and went to eat what he was given and slowly, very slowly, in fact, prepared for bedtime. Scanning through all his Echo Eye files for some clues hadn't been fruitful for the past few days but there were enough folders to check for eternity. He had that, in a way - just not at the place he maybe would want. Not realising when he stopped seeing the Echo Eye layout, with a droll falling from his left cheek, Rhys slowly opened his eyes, seeing a figure above him. The hand on his shoulder didn't leave many suspects on who it might be but, the cold point on his cheek wasn't as easy to guess. "Open up, buttercup." "Oaaaghaa?", Rhys said very charismatically, obviously. "Come on, it will melt. Just say aaaaa or eeee, both are good. Or even waaaah, just don't do it too loud. We're no longer in kindergarten." "Mmwha waw you tal'in aboth...", Rhys straightened his back and said in the most professional tone. "I'm talking about the ice crea- yogurt, I mean, oh you get what I mean. Taste it." "I ion wanna. I washed my teeth, just.... now...." "Princess, it's 4 am. You're dressed in your clothes, you have one shoe still on and it's only between you and one Skag probably where the other is gone. I want to fall asleep soon but I won't be able to finish this if I don't know, you know like, if I did a good job." "Mm but is athrosiosh...." "To me. Fortunately, there is only one person with good taste in this room, so this should be up to your liking. Now chop chop, I don't want it dribbling off my fingers and staining me for life."

While the metal of the spoon was getting a tiny bit warmer, the trails of the frogurt slowly melting off Rhys' skin made him reluctantly open his mouth and give the cold mass a lick. The familiar taste made his eyes open, while not fully, a lot more, and he grabbed the spoon, eating everything off it.

"How did you find Fran's here?" "Who's Fran." "The frogurt lady. Unless she started selling these goods through grocery shops." "Oh yes, pumpkin. I just spent 7 hours on opening shop-bought creams." "That sucks on you." 

Rhys cackled and yawned. "But, where did you find my Fran's fav?" "Where? Well jee, princess, let me think of every shop being close by. Oh, right - they typically don't have atrocious and horrible tastes. I'd be scared living here if others would like this as much as you." "Mm, so, was this what you got from Elpis?" "I don't think - - My God, please don't act dumb, I'm doing everything in my mind not to kiss you at this moment. No, it's--I worked on it. All day. Based on the description you said. No ice shop here, and no van with fun music around. It's just me, making you a treat." 

Rhys felt his mind open a bit more, finally letting the information he was hearing process. "Wait so - you made it?" "Unfortunately." 

Jack's face was still covered in shadow but, the softness of his voice and the hand, wrapped under the right ear as the thumb was slowly careering his cheek, felt like enough signs the guy was in a good mood. 

"You didn't have to but... How did you get the perfect combination of flavours and textures? It feels just so right." "I had my fair share of horrible meals I had to make in my life to sustain someone." "You truly didn't...have to-" "Yes, and I won't redo this massacre anytime soon. But check the freezer on your 'sad nights ice cream times' or some other shit mood." "No - - I meant the kissing. I mean - both." "... Kiddo I..." 

Rhys' consciousness was drifting back and forth but he knew he was speaking very nonchalantly.

"Come to bed then. You look tired." No one had ever said these words in a more confident, job-winning way. "I need to put the atrocity in the fridge but -- I'll uh. I'll be back." "That would be nice." "Don't fall asleep before I'm back. Wait for me." 

Not even five minutes later, after running what felt like a marathon, Jack came back to the master bedroom and heard Rhys soft snores. Shaking his head and talking about how the guy would get mad in the morning for the state of the clothes, Jack gently joined him in the bed and wrapped his arms around him, finally feeling the tiredness hitting. He didn't mind it, though. The warmth, spreading in his chest, helped him fall asleep easier than the past few alone nights. This wasn't a sweet moment. Probably not even bittersweet. 

But a weird mix of ingredients the guy in his arms liked. 

His tongue was to be examined but... 

Maybe some other time.

[moss-covered-thoughts]

Eyyy moss balls

Couple weeks late with the Chap 11 posting but here we go!

Already crying with the lovely comments this chapter has gotten, it's the only reason I post ahah (not to be dramatic or nothin). Also we hit over 2k kudos!! Holy moly canoli!

Excited to be working on this again, mainly as a coping mechanism but ey gets the juices goin

Chapter 11 snippet:

“We need to make this quick, by the way. This is now the top priority of the JLD. I don’t think you understand how serious this is.”

“I take everything seriously.”

“Yeah, that’s the problem, not everything is equally serious. What leads do you have on the white ship?”

“Nothing on the assailants,” Batman admitted with a frown. “We had three trackers placed on that plane before it took off, and all three of them went dark.”

“That’s not too surprising, Bats,” Constantine said somewhat distantly, “they have something that’s either ghost essence or otherwise magically-infused onboard. You know that magic and tech don’t play along.”

“That’s a contradiction though—the aircraft was highly advanced, and had to be man-made—”

“Yeah, I won’t lie—that’s one of my biggest concerns right now. If someone figured out how to overcome the difficulties between the magical-electrical interferences, that’s… there’s some pretty big implications there. And if they did, I wanna know who’s stupid enough to start picking fights with beings that are functionally immortal.”

[flfverse]

okay so now we’re gonna need more of the switched shinsou and erasermic fic!! foaming at the mouth i need that kid to know parental love 😭 a real family 😭 and the concept of a misdesignated dom is so interesting honestly

it is! i’ve seen lots of fics with subs who hid or were forced to hide it, but i’ve never seen the same with doms (i’ve seen a lot of things done in this au to subs that don’t get flipped to doms as often/at all), and i really want to explore it. i’ve been picking at that fic more, actually! got about 2k more down on it, up to 6.5k now and i’m still literally writing shinsou’s second day of being with erasermic 💀

so it’s definitely going to be a longer one, but i want to get it complete or at least to a comfortable stopping point before i start posting chapters just so there’s not a long wait between them and it doesn’t become another thing looming over me :3

but in the meantime you can have another snippet!

It only takes a moment of looking at the table to unravel that this is Eraserhead’s hero gear. He spots needles and thread, and a newly-mended hole near the hip. Did he get hurt? How recent was it? Hitoshi can’t help but run his fingers over the careful stitching.

He lays the main body of the costume out more neatly, then the mostly-disassembled utility belt and all its tools, most of which he doesn’t even recognize or understand. Some of them are knives, which makes his stomach dip and swim as he touches them. The thing he avoids touching are Eraserhead’s goggles, like he might ruin them with a single brush of his fingers.

Hitoshi looks, though. It doesn’t feel real. Somehow, seeing all the evidence laid out makes it seem even less real, like surely this is too obvious. Surely it’s a trick. Hitoshi doesn’t really get to live with his hero and not suffer for it.

It’s not fair.

“Shinsou?”

He flinches, clutching the goggles close to his chest—when did he pick them up?—and looking up at Aizawa—when did he start kneeling? Has it been twenty minutes?

Aizawa’s eyes rake over the room, then the table, and finally land on his hands. His voice is pulled taut and sharp. “I didn’t ask you to clean anything.”

Hitoshi shrinks, panic rushing cold through his chest. He just wanted—he didn’t want to get in more trouble if he could help it, but he didn’t think about the other side. Some people don’t want someone like Hitoshi touching their things. It’s a joke of the universe that he’s allowed to be within a city block of Eraserhead’s costume. Of course he can’t be allowed to touch it.

“I’m sorry, sir, I’m sorry. I thought—I’m sorry.” He forces himself to stop groveling. His hand is shaking so badly the goggles rattle against the tabletop when he tries to put them back. He’s torn between leaping away from the table and staying on his knees.

“No, just—” Aizawa sighs and comes closer. Hitoshi curls up, stupidly wanting to protect himself. “I’m surprised. I shouldn’t have left this out, I wasn’t thinking. Did you hurt yourself touching anything?”

[tennessoui]

if you feel like it ever, i would LOVE to know wtf qui was thinking sending obi undercover in the playmaker au

did he think he could handle it? did he think it would be a dose of reality? did he just want him out of sight out of mind for a bit? or like??

i love this au so much!!!

hello hello here is ~2k of playmaker vader having a conversation with qui-gon jinn about the one thing they have in common (obi-wan)

this snippet takes place after this ficlet but before this ficlet, so obi-wan is currently in jail, being held before his trial begins because he killed a man in self-defense and will be sent to prison

i think to have the real, detailed answer to your question, the scene would have to be qui-gon talking to obi-wan (after his release from prison), but i really wanted to write anakin antagonizing qui-gon and goading him and taunting him because i missed writing playmaker!vader

(2k)

Truly, Anakin is showing a level of restraint here that they should write heroic ballads about. 

He is unarmed and alone, though he knows that the man in front of him knows that both these things can change within a second. He is being cordial. He is being kind. He is being open and showing good faith here, all to the one man who deserves his kindness as much as he deserves his son’s forgiveness.

“Thank you,” Qui-Gon Jinn tells Ahsoka as she places a heavy, covered dish down on the table in front of him. Ahsoka’s mouth twitchces, but she keeps her face expressionless. She knows her role in this exchange. She knows what Vader needs her to be, which is a silent member of the waitstaff, posted at the edge of the room, hands behind her back holding a knife.

It’s Rex that lifts the dome cover from the plate in synchrony with three other members of the staff doing the same up and down the table. It’s all so much. Too much food for two men who did not sit down to eat.

Anakin leans back in his chair at the head of the table. His usual spot. His usual table. The noise of the restaurant below them leaks through the mahogany doors as the wait staff slip through them. All but his men remain, dressed as they are to blend in amongst the other servers.

“Ah,” Qui-Gon Jinn says, looking at the dishes on the table. Bone-in fish, eye staring up. Coq au vin, sauce still bubbling. Boeuf bourguignon, sitting closest to the police chief. Lamb chops, further down, meat a perfect pink, red juice staining the white dijon sauce around it.

“You should try the coq au vin, sir,” Anakin says, snapping his fingers. Throwing him a deadly look of disdain, Ahsoka strides forward to scoop a serving of the dish onto Qui-Gon Jinn’s plate. Likewise, Rex takes his plate silently and ladles out a scoop of mashed potatoes, covering them with the bourguignon before setting it back in front of Anakin.

Rex knows the importance of appearance. Ahsoka, unfortunately, is still not quite sure why they bother. All this, for a rat. 

Because he is fond of her, Anakin will do his best to educate her once more. Later. 

“It is your son’s favorite,” Anakin adds, holding up a hand to dismiss Rex and Ahsoka back to their positions against the wall.

“My son is a vegetarian,” Qui-Gon Jinn says, skin around his eyes tight as his hands clench together in his lap.

“No, sir,” Anakin replies, resting his chin on his knuckles as he looks across the table at his guest. “You are a vegetarian.”

“Ah,” Qui-Gon says, one eyebrow arching. “I wasn’t sure if you knew. I suppose then that the notable lack of any dishes I am able to eat should be taken as a snub? A power struggle? I am at your table, Mr. Skywalker, as a guest.”

“Your son,” Anakin murmurs, leaning back in his chair, “simply adores that recipe. I ask my chefs to make it almost daily for him. He enjoys sitting in my lap and licking the wine sauce off my fingers.”

Jinn’s jaw clenches momentarily before he seems to calm himself. He takes his napkin from the table and unfolds it carefully in his lap.

“Why do you think that is?” Anakin asks before Jinn can speak. “If he is a vegetarian.”

“I could not say.”

“Answer me this, then,” he says. “Was Ben supposed to be a vegetarian?”

Jinn’s eyes cut to his own. They’re dark and narrowed. His jaw bunches.

“You can’t blame me for being curious, you know,” Anakin murmurs. “I have yet to untangle what parts of your son belong to Obi-Wan Kenobi, and what parts are Ben Lars. I thought, as his father, you may be in the best position to help me.”

Jinn’s nostrils flare. “Why would you think I would be inclined to do that?”

“Well, you seem so disinclined to help him,” Anakin says. His hand finds the knife to the side of his plate and he flicks it between his fingers idly. “You can’t blame me for trying to better understand your motivations.”

“I am helping him,” Jinn says. His tone is short, his lips barely moving. “Getting him as far away from you as possible, that’s helping him.”

“You are single-handedly ensuring that he will spend months in a prison cell,” Anakin bites back, fury rising at the very thought. His little mouse. Alone in a cell. Worse, sharing a cell with someone else.

“Better than spending any more time with you, Skywalker!” Jinn snaps, and he finally turns his head to face him completely. There is something so furiously smug about his expression that it makes Anakin’s teeth clench, his control slip. “You may have half the city in your pocket, Vader, but I only need one judge, one warden in mine, and you won’t be able to see him at all.”

Rex shifts at his post against the wall. He knows Vader well enough to know that nothing good can come from a threat like that. A threat to take his little mouse away from him before he’s finished playing.

Vader’s knife thrusts cleanly through the wood of the table as his face twists into a snarl. Jinn must die. He is the one man in all of Coruscant that could ever challenge Anakin Skywalker’s claim on Obi-Wan Kenobi. He is the one man stupid enough to.

But Jinn cannot die. Not here. Not now. So Anakin carefully unfurls his fingers from the hilt of the knife and rests them on the table next to his plate. Carefully. So carefully. 

Obi-Wan has been held by the city police for the last week and a half. A trial will begin in just a little over a month. There is very little doubt that the trial will end with a prison sentence for his little mouse, though his lawyers assure him that no sentence can be issued for a period of time longer than a few months, given that Obi-Wan’s murder of Savage Oppress had been in self-defense and the worst thing he’d done was try to cover it up, thereby obstructing justice.

The city feels empty without him beside Anakin. He still flicks on the lights of his penthouse, expecting Obi-Wan to be waiting for him, but all that greets him every time he returns are morose children, crying and pleading for him to bring their Ben back.

And here is the orchestrator of it all, sitting at his table and not touching a single dish, sneering at him as if he really truly thinks he is saving his son. As if he truly thinks there is such a thing as saving his son anymore.

As if he truly still thinks he has a son. As if that son did not die so that Anakin can have his little mouse. It’s pathetic.

It’s dangerous, too.

It’s the reason why Qui-Gon Jinn is here, in Anakin’s restaurant, in Obi-Wan’s seat. Because someone has to tell him. Someone has to disavow him of the notion that any part of Obi-Wan still belongs to Qui-Gon Jinn. He had his chance and he lost it all. He lost him all.

The thought and the truth of it calms Anakin’s breathing, and he leans back in his chair to study Qui-Gon Jinn.

“May I ask you a question?” he asks, head tilted to the side so he can prop his chin on his closed fist once more. “Father to father.”

Jinn’s eyes narrow, but he inclines his head. He must know that one must sometimes walk into a few traps to get anywhere at all.

“Hypothetically,” Anakin murmurs. “Let’s say you’re right. Let’s say that there is a man in the city, powerful and cruel and monstrous. Clever and wicked and terrible. Let’s say he controls half the city. No, let’s be generous. Let’s say this one man, who isn’t a politician, who isn’t in government or business, let’s say he owns the loyalty of three-fourths of the city. Judges in his pocket. Policemen too. Politicians. Other powerful men from other cities.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Rex twitch, and Anakin’s lips curl up into a smile.

“Hypothetically, we’re talking about a very dangerous man. One who could theoretically kill and get away with it. One that sells drugs, sells sex, sells weapons, sells whatever he wants, right under the city council’s nose. As the police chief, your job is to bring him down, isn’t it? Bring him in. Bring him to justice. Hm?” He sets his elbow on the table, tilting his head as he studies the man before him.

“My question is, if you really think a man like that exists, one that has all that power, one that can make people just…disappear without a word, without an investigation…why the hell do you send your son to find the evidence? Bring him in? Shouldn’t that be your job? Shouldn’t you want to keep someone so soft and so precious as far away from that monster as possible?”

Qui-Gon Jinn’s eyes darken. His nostrils flare. “My son is an accomplished detective. He—”

“He was,” Anakin corrects lazily. “He was an accomplished detective, but he resigned a year ago, I believe.”

“He had the top scores in his graduating class,” Jinn bites out. “A face no one would recognize. He knew to be careful. He—” Jinn’s jaw clenches, bulges out, and then he is quiet.

“He was your son,” Anakin says, because he has spent a rather lengthy amount of time thinking about this. “And you knew how much he loved you. How much he wanted to prove himself to you. You thought he’d be cautious. You planned to whore him out and you didn’t think his loyalty to the cause would waver?” Qui-Gon stands abruptly, tossing his napkin over the food. The red of the sauce stains the white of the fabric.

“Did you hope I would kill him?” Anakin asks, remaining in his seat. Rex coughs. “Hypothetically,” Anakin adds. “If I killed him, he would be a martyr to the cause. If I killed him, you could drag his corpse in front of the city council, tell them that it was time to do something about the monster in the woods. Did you hope he would die? Do you really love your son so little?”

Jinn’s chair skitters back from the force of his movements. It teeters on its back two legs before falling to the ground with a clatter. “I love my son,” Jinn says quietly in a voice choking with rage, “more than you ever could understand. More than you could ever love anyone.”

Now Anakin stands, carefully placing his napkin on the table beside his plate. “Not according to your son, I’m afraid,” he tells him. A parting blow. “I will see you in court, I’m sure. After all, you are the lead expert for the prosecution, yes?”

He smiles and dips his head in farewell as he waves Rex and Ahsoka forward to escort Jinn out.

It had not been the most informative luncheon, but it had left him feeling rather accomplished for no other reason than that he had not seen Jinn so shaken since the first policeman’s ball Obi-Wan had attended on Vader’s arm. 

With no one to warm his bed but the cruel absence of his little mouse, Anakin takes great joy in whatever victories he is allowed.

[restlesspazzi04]

do you have a snippet for the next chapter? 👀

I will rarely, if at all, post snippets because I love the element of surprise. But since this is a calmer chapter in comparison to the next few 👀 and I lowkey found the perfect scene to share, I guess I'll feed you guys a sneak peak.

Also this is my first day on tumblr so I gotta be nice lol.

-

Azzi stares at Paige as she fiddles with her fingers. Ever since they got back from basketball practice, the older girl had been acting weird. It started at dinner when Paige’s father asked if they had any plans for tomorrow. Azzi had wanted to say she was free but Paige had given an inconclusive answer.

“We might be busy tomorrow… can I get back to you?” Paige had asked quietly. Azzi had thrown her a confused look, but the blonde had her eyes set on her chicken. 

They had migrated to the basement after eating, as they always had, to play video games. It was only after Paige lost twice to Azzi in a 2K did the younger girl start questioning her weird behavior. “When do I ever lose to you in 2K?” Azzi says while dropping the controller on the couch. “You good?”

Paige sighs heavily before putting down her controller as well.

“I have something I need to tell you… and I just want to say that you totally do not have to say yes, like don’t feel pressured at all to do anything.” 

Azzi stares at Paige curiously, not sure what she’s about to ask. 

“Like I really wanna make sure you know you can say no. Like actually it’s not a big deal.” 

“Okay,” Azzi says slowly.

“Like I swear you can say no,” Paige says standing up now, looking down at the girl. She starts playing with her fingers, pacing in front of the girl. 

Azzi just nods, waiting for her to continue. 

“I just really want to emphasize that you do NOT have to say y-”

“Paige, how can I say no when you haven’t told me what it is yet?” Azzi groans. 

Paige decides to sit down and takes a deep breath before continuing. 

“Jalen asked me if you would want to go on a double date with him. And before you say no, just know he’s really nice and it’ll be super casual, oh also I’ll be there so you don’t have to worry about things getting awkward.” Paige speaks so fast that Azzi barely has time to register what she said. 

“Who are you going on a date with?” Azzi asks in order to give herself more time to think. 

“Michael,” Azzi gives her a look, “I know. Apparently he has a thing for me. I’m pretty sure Jalen made that up just to get me to agree, though.”

“Where would we be going?”

“To the State Fair. It’s pretty cool. There’s rides and games. All different ways for you to lose to me.” Azzi just hums in response, looking deep in thought. 

“You can say no. He’s not the type to get upset. We can still workout with him it won’t be awk-”

“I’m down.”

Paige mouth widens at the brunette's response.

“What? It’s one date. It’s not like we’re boyfriend and girlfriend. I’ve never been on a date before, might as well rip off the bandaid. Tell him I said yes.” 

Paige continues staring at her friend before reaching into her pocket to text Jalen. She spends a few minutes on the phone, responding before putting it down. 

“It’s a date then.” 

[tired-and-unjellied]

Kinda interested in the Jelly x human polycule one,,,,

Unfortunately, i didn't get to the polycule part yet 😔

It's more of a quick one-shot than a long thing like the MILGRAM or SCP fanfics; just some fluff and comfort, with a slimefolk.

I posted the unfinished first draft here previously, but honestly it's pretty bad ^^' (like, what does "I caught a quick glance of myself at the mirror the coat tail" mean??)

I still haven't touched it, but given I don't think I could a snippet that feels satisfactory without editing it a bit or having 2k words, so I edited it into a snippet and will probably port the edit into the story later™️

Anyway, here's a snippet of "A jelly game night with my BFs". (973 words)

“Ah… I’m finally home.” I thought, as I climbed the doorsteps. It was a tough day. The Friday rush is always so exhausting. Luckily, my boyfriend was waiting for me at home. I passed the door, and with a sigh, quickly dropped my bag to the floor. I will take care of that later, or maybe Sam will. I don’t know. I don’t really care. The music wandering in the house tipped me to Sam’s presence. He didn’t sneak to the grocery store without telling me, this time. Or maybe he did, and came back before I arrived. Well, whatever. I caught a quick glance of myself in the mirror in the entry and I looked… exhausted to say the least. My brown hair was a mess, my blue eyes were burdened with the outline of dark circles, and my tie was creasing, probably from the bus and from currently hunching. It took that effort to stand, so I decided against bending over or crouching to remove my dress shoes. I quickly wiped them on the mat, to at least alleviate whoever will have the courage to clean the floor tomorrow.

I entered the living room and sure enough, Samuel was playing a video game—the latest Zelda—on the TV. I got around the sofa and passed between him and the television. I didn’t feel like talking, honestly. He quickly looked my way, acknowledging my presence, but didn’t utter a word either. He’s pretty similar to me in that regard, he dislikes talking just after coming back from work, so he is pretty understanding when I don’t feel like it. I sat on the other end of the sofa and lied down, my head resting on the armrest and my shoes facing him, but not quite reaching his lap.

I looked at the TV, and… yeah, he wouldn’t be a popular streamer even if he tried. The game is interesting and nice to play, but watching people play is a different matter. I yawned and Sam took a quick glance away from the game, seeing my stretched out legs, before turning away, back to his game. He tapped on his lap with the back of his hand, still holding the joy-con. I figured that he was offering his lap for my feet, but seeing as he was fighting a boss, I had another idea. My face contorted into a smirk as I got up, despite attempting to hide my nefarious intent. I approached him and sat on his lap, facing away from the TV, and hugging him for stability. I twisted my legs around his waist to be more stable and avoid doing the split. I could feel his squishy torso deform under my hug and his legs under my weight. He groaned at the surprise embrace, trying to figure a way to see the game, while not condemning me to fall. After a bit of struggle, he finally put his head on my shoulder, incidentally filling my nose with his natural body scent akin to bleach and soap in spite of the smell of his unwashed hoodie (technically mine).

I focused back onto Sam, and I noticed he twisted his arms around my torso and pointed the joy-cons toward the TV. Hm… So he needs to aim? I waited a couple of seconds, hearing him press over several buttons, and make several movements, and started gently lifting my legs and lowering my arms, which perturbed his movements enough for him to gently groan, and to grow accommodated to those jitters to the point he suspect that’s all there is to it. And then… he pressed a button and moved slightly as if aiming. I made a big movement to break his aim. With the sound of an explosion came the game over jiggle. Sam’s face turned sour. “Dude…” His voice was high-pitched, almost like a teenager whose voice didn’t quite break. Make no mistake, he’s 23, and has a full-time job; remote allows him not to be seen. I doubt anyone would recruit a green guy, ha ha. I unrolled my legs and stood up before he could hug me back, which left him agape, and slightly embarrassed, his cheeks turning into a shade of yellowish-green for a moment. So easy to tease… I went back to my end of the sofa, and lied back down. He got up and went to fetch the Switch from its support, he switched the monitor back to the TV channels, which landed on the nature documentary channel. He pursed his lips and turned away, his cheeks once again changing taints. I love him. But it is a good choice. I wouldn’t mind watching that while I do a quick nap. Sam sat back down, Switch in hand, joy-cons connected to the screen, and looked at me, tapping his lap with a free hand. I raised an eyebrow. “Do you want my head on your lap?” I asked. He shrugged. He wasn’t very talkative since the transformation; he felt insecure about his voice. It was surprising, honestly, given he is fine with being green and all squishy, but having a high-pitched voice is bad? Regardless, I flipped around, and lied my head on his lap. The cushioning is perfect.

I could sometimes see his eyes twitch to the TV, as if he was both watching the documentary and playing the game. After a few minutes, probably the time to kill that boss and save, he turned the console down and put it on the table. He sighed. Then looked toward me. He slowly reached out to grab one of my hands, and started massaging it. That was unexpected, but so nice… I will be honest, I used to love pressing cat paw “beans”, but after experiencing his squishy gelatinous hands, I just can’t go back!

[j-trow-95]

Six Sentence Sunday

When I started writing this post it was still Sunday here in the UK, so here goes nothing!

Thanks for all the tags recently for WIPs days. I'm always so blown away by the creativity in this fandom, and by how everyone hypes everyone else up. This fandom is something truly special, and I am so grateful to have fallen into it like I did.

I'm pretty sick at the moment (food poisoning + a cold = a very tired and confused Jess), so I don't have the brain power to go back and tag everyone who has tagged me, but just know I see your posts and I am so excited by what you're all working on!!

As a direct result of SickJess being in the drivers seat this week, I'm going to have to delay chapter 8 of Trails for a few days, maybe even up to a week. I don't have the brain space to consider serious edits (and boy does this chapter need some serious editing!) and one of my beta's isn't doing to hot either, so this one will be slow going. This chapter is also chonky for me (6.6k, whereas I tend to write between 2k-5k maximum per chapter), so there's a lot to go through.

TL;DR: I'm sick, editing is a long process, brain no English gud right now, chapter 8 delayed slightly.

That being said, here's a (currently unedited) snippet from chapter 8.

“Who are we meeting?” I ask, breaking the quiet. There isn’t a lot of traffic on the roads tonight, just the odd cab that splashes through the surface water. It’s eerie to see London this quiet, at any time, day or night. “Hush, Snow,” Baz says, not looking at me and nestling further into the collar of his coat. That gets my hackles up.  “It’ll look strange if we just stand here not talking. Anyone could see us out here.” I make a point of glancing around to drive my point home, but also because I don’t trust that the Now Next don’t have eyes and ears everywhere. He sighs sharply. “We’re talking now, aren’t we?” “You know what I mean,” I growl. “Fine, Snow.” Baz shifts slightly, takes a short sharp inhale, then leans back against the railing again. “We’re waiting on someone from the Coins and Medals department. My contact said he’d be able to let us in after ten.” I make a show of looking at my watch. “He’s late.” “I know,” Baz grinds out. “And why is someone who studies coins seeing us about a map and a ring?” “The department deals in more than numismatics, Snow.” “Do they speak English?” He gives me an imperious eyebrow, which pisses me right off. “Don’t be a prat,” I huff, resting against the fence and staring out at the street.

Tagging with my regular list (so apologies in advance if you've already posted today!): @artsyunderstudy @aroace-genderfluid-sheep @aristocratic-otter @bazzybelle @blackberrysummerblog @bookish-bogwitch @cattocavo @chen-chen-chen-again-chen @cosmicalart @cutestkilla @dragoneggos @erzbethluna @ebbpettier @fatalfangirl @frjsti @henreyettah @hushed-chorus @ic3-que3n @ileadacharmedlife @ivelovedhimthroughworse @krisrix @larkral @letraspal @martsonmars @nightimedreamersworld @orange-peony @prettylightsbigcity @palimpsessed @phoxphyre @raenestee @skeedelvee @stardustasincocaine @subparselkie @theearlgreymage @wellbelesbian @you-remind-me-of-the-babe 

[dancingontheblades]

Writing update

Earlier this month, I announced that I want to post more about writing and the overall progress of my works. However, over Europeans and some work-related things, I kinda neglected this. Shame on me.

First things first: Since I started this task about three weeks ago, I have edited about 33% of all scenes in my YOI post-canon story Did My Heart Love 'Til Now. I was able to declutter the text, cut dialogues or rearranged the different parts of a scene, but also added stuff where I found it necessary for characterisation or setting, which results in about 1-2k more words so far. But no need to panic, as the entire story is about 330k words, this effect is marginal. Also, this is pretty normal editing behaviour for me lol.

Picking the scenes randomly from a spreadsheet allows me to look at each one from a distance as I don't get drawn into the story. As a consequence, I decided that I want to cause Yuuri even more distress at the 2016 Four Continents and thus raise the stakes for the finale of this story [Worlds]. That was by far the most complex and extensive part to edit so far as it included recalculating of the scores of three characters, including fair and unfair scoring for each of them based on the ISU base values and rules for the 2015-2016 season. I had so much fun doing this and it was super enlightening to see for myself how things like GOE, underrotations, edge calls, and downgraded jumps can affect the scores of a skater. (I knew before as I sometimes check the protocols when the scores don't make sense, but it's different if you calculate them yourself.) I might write a post about how exactly I calculate figure skating scores for my stories.

Over the next two days, I will prepare the chapters of Can You Hear My Heartbeat and Thousand Spotlights I will post in February, and then continue with the revision. I hope to be done by mid March as starting then, I will have significantly less spare time for a few months, and because I need a beta-reading for Did My Heart Love 'Til Now that ideally should be finished before I will post the last chapter of CYHMH in case I must make any bigger changes.

Right now, I'm planning to write the story about young Vitya after that before I'll pick up my work on In Love and War.

Edit: For now, I will continue posting Thousand Spotlights. After the last chapter, I received several very kind and uplifting comments that showed me that this story is far more appreciated than I thought and that there's an audience for it after all. Thank you for this <3

Edit 2: If you're interested in reading excerpts: I often post snippets of my current wips for the ficwip game on Wednesdays (hashtags: #ficwip, #word game wednesday).

[chattercap]

Monthly Update (March 2024!)

Hello everyone, happy March!

Karamu Trilogy

February was definitely my Kanau development month! Most of the month was devoted to working on the art assets and setting up the voice acting. I started the casting call in early February and finished it in mid-February. I also received all of the voice files and cleaned and adjusted them/requested retakes. I'll be making casting announcements soon; I'm very excited to be working with so many talented individuals!

I also started and finished all of the art for Kanau. In total, it's 7 backgrounds, 9 CGs, and 21 mini CGs! (Gosh even I'm impressed by how much art I managed to do for this…originally it was just going to be 2 backgrounds and one sprite…)

I also wrote around 6000 words for Hanasu, the Karamu sequel!

The Deepwater Witch

I finished a few of the remaining CGs for The Deepwater Witch, but there are a couple left to go that I want to take my time with. Since March will be devoted to MINDMINDMIND (and coding the Kanau release), I decided to push back the full TDW release to April.

MINDMINDMIND (Nano 2024)

I finalized the designs for Geist and Kalei, and I also finished finalizing the outline. In addition, I decided to start the casting call for this one a little early; I do want to release the voiced version for Nano if possible, and I want to give the VAs as much time as possible to record. As a result, I am DEAD SET on finishing the script within the first ten days of March…fingers crossed!

Other game build related stuff!

I got some reports in January that there were issues with TDW's MacOS build, which is probably because of my engine change (from Unity to Godot). Mac's security systems are notoriously difficult to work with, which is probably what is causing the problems. I decided to bite the bullet and buy an Apple Developer License so I could sign and notarize my Mac builds, but after struggling for around 2 weeks, I concluded: with my current game framework, it is impossible to sign and notarize for Mac. If I want to fix it, then I need to either rewrite all of my code in a different language or go back to Unity.

I did hear that deploying on itch through itch's command line app (butler) and then playing the game through the official itch app can fix some of the issues. I did that for TDW, and hopefully the MacOS game build is working okay now. If you want to play my games on Mac, please download them through the official itch app. That's the best way to make sure that they play without a hitch. Unfortunately, I don't have a good Mac (the only one I own is around 11 years old at this point), and it's difficult for me to do any Mac testing. If you run into problems, please let me know, and I'll try to get them sorted!

As for Android builds, I'm still waiting on an update to the version of Godot that I use, so I don't have a timeline on that. As soon as Android builds are available, I'll work on ports for Kanau and TDW.

What am I planning for March?

Kanau is slated to release on Friday, March 8th, so between now and then I'll be hard at work coding. I'm also going to be in the weeds scripting for MINDMINDMIND so that I can give a script to the VAs as soon as I cast (I'm aiming for around 2k words a day…hopefully…) After Kanau is released, I'll be finalizing the MINDMINDMIND script, and then the rest of the month will be devoted to putting MINDMINDMIND together. It will be finished by the end of March, by hook or by crook!

Thank you to everyone for reading, and I'll see you next month!

If you want to hear from me more often, I post frequently on my Patreon with sketches, writing snippets, sneak peeks, high resolution art, and weekly devlogs.

[ay0nha]

20 writing questions !

give a preview into your mind! how does the genius flow? how do you write? (only answer questions you're comfortable with! feel free to tag other writers to share the love ♡)

1. Is it a spur of the moment thing, or do you need a specific environment/set up to get into it? Both! But, I'll admit it's usually spur of the moment, and I'm like, jot that down, jot that down!! 2. Where do you write? (phone/pc/typewriter/all of the above?) Laptop (google docs) and phone (notes) 3. What apps/programs do you use? above! 4. How long have you been writing? too long lol 5. What fandoms do you write for? too many lol, they shift according to my hyper fixation (currently: OPLA, Jujusu Kaisen, Marvel, Harry Potter, etc.) 6. Music, or no music while writing? (if music, what kind?) I'm more of a tv in the background kinda gal, but if I'm not home writing a playlist or playlist made for me! 7. What does a WIP look like to you? (do you take notes? is anything color-coded? do you have a preferred font?) I wish I had a better technique but I literally word vomit/ stream of consciousness it 8. Do you proofread? barely, a quick glance is enough 9. What's something you googled recently for writing? always spelling or like...am i using this word correctly or did I totally make that up hahaha 10. How many words does a usual work from you have? I used to write around 4K-6K, but to maintain my sanity I've cut down to 2K-3K (and some 1K) 11. Share a snippet from something you're working on!  "It was strange to hear a voice that lost the ability to joke and convey tenderness. It was cold, hollow sounding, and barely reached you without exposing pure desolation. Its echo ridiculed him." 12. How many drafts do you have currently? I'm too scared to check hehe 13. What's something someone said about your writing that stuck with you? "I seriously can't wait to read your book one day and go "we were tumblr mutuals" 14. What's your safe zone? Is there a character or genre you're most confident writing for? hmmm you know I've been giving this thought lately, I think I have an easier time writing a morally questionable character because I can "work" more with them being annoying to drive the plot. 15. Is there something you want to try in your work that you haven't done yet? haven't given much thought to this, but open to suggestions! 16. Do you have a favorite work of yours? All of them (maybe my tommy shelby/theseus scamander stuff, but my fave fave for nostalgic reasons is "pain in my heart" for Bucky Barnes 17. Do you have a least favorite work of yours? All of them (probably the old stuff, if I was still active for certain fandoms I would love to rewrite them with more mature writing) 18. Genre of the very first thing you wrote? Every cliche I could think of/bad fluff and angst lol 19. Genre of the latest thing you wrote! OPLA/angsty angst 20. Last but not least, where can readers find your stuff? (your masterlist/other sites you post on/etc.) HERE!

tags! @togenabi (as the creator of this wonderful post, I'd love to hear about you!) @kalllistos @from-the-clouds @sp1rit-realm @lundenloves @wood-white-writer

I appreciate you all dearly <333

[moonlightdoesgenshin]

Y'know I'd forgotten how. Freeing writing could be sometimes

Back when I was still writing my other stuff(iykyk) I felt passionate about it, yeah, but I also constantly felt like there was an invisible deadline for it, which made writing difficult

But now, since I'm just putting any ideas I want down on paper(I will probably never post more than snippets of these- they're cracky and weird and emotional and I don't need them out there for people to see and criticize lol), I can pace myself. I can write 2 paragraphs and feel good, because I did something.

In the past week or so, I have written 2 oneshots, and started a third, just because I had the idea and wanted to write it. Both of the complete ones are over 2k words, and the incomplete two-shot is at 1,200 already and I'm basically only half-way through the first part

Idk I'm just feeling really free with my writing rn and that makes me happy