#i can appreciate any fanfic writer who can put the effort in convincing me that two characters can fall in love with each other

[omni-scient-pan-da]

I was talking to May about art and writing, because I am very much a writer and May is an artist, and how we both are just in awe of the other art form because neither of us wants to tempt the devil and try and be good at both

And like, idk, I always used to be jealous of my sister, who is also an artist, because she would just create these masterpieces, she'd think of an image and just be able to draw it as she got good enough to not have to constantly look up references

And when she was done you could just... See the art she had created

When I finished writing a piece, I'd have to convince someone in my family to take the time to sit down and read what I wrote, not to mention it might not be in their particular genre, or it might not be as good as I thought it was and be totally unclear to the reader what's going on

But my sister? She could just hold up her really cool drawing of an angel and we'd all be like "woah, holy shit, that's a really cool angel" and immediately be able to appreciate the time and effort she put into her drawing

But then I thought about it, and like, I posted a Christmas fic to ao3 a couple weeks ago, and I got a comment that said someone was going to make it their yearly tradition to read my fic (which is the biggest accomplishment ever in my opinion) and it made me think about like

Yeah art gets the immediate value of being seen and people being to appreciate it, instead of people seeing a fanfic that's thousands of words long and being like "I'm not reading that" but writing gets people to come back to it

How many times have I seen a cool art piece, reblogged it once, and then continued to go on about my day? I'll bookmark a piece of art sometimes and come back to it when it's a really impactful piece but I don't come back to it to appreciate it

I don't look at it a second time and zoom in on the small details and wonder how many hours it took the artist to get it right or how frustrated they must have gotten and almost given up but pushed through anyways to post a piece of art

The only time I see people coming back to art is when they want to demand more of the artist, make it similar enough that I still like it but new enough that I'll be impressed by something different

I dunno it made me think of how I look at art differently and I think I'm going to start reblogging art pieces when I see them and then queuing them to reblog again for a year later, because I think everyone deserves to have their art looked at more than once no matter what piece of media it's made on

And I think instead of just being like "Woah cool art" when I see cool art and reblogging, I'm going to reblog and then take the time to really look at the art piece that someone has taken the time to work hard on and post

And that's not exactly something I can show the artist that I'm trying to appreciate their art ""more"" whatever that means, because it's not going to give them another like or a reblog by another blog but I mean... I dunno

It feels like taking the time to appreciate art is worth it anyways, especially in this day and age when you get people with nfts and ai art stealing artists hard work

I dunno if this makes any sense but from a humble writer in awe of the things all artists create, thank you for what you do, and I promise to appreciate your works more <3

[number-0-iz]

I found your wattys 2023 post and I'm honestly geniunely confused as to why fanfiction would be considered for the wattys. I understand the appeal fanfiction has and how much effort writers, including me, put into it - but I don't really see how fanfiction would be the best choice for writing awards. Fanfiction can be bigoted (the top fanfic on wattpad in the UK was an HP one) and some may get popular purely based on certain ships or tropes, and not on the stories they tell. As you said, wattpad is known for fanfiction, but I don't want it to turn into another AO3 where original works barely get any attention. Though there is the obvious, glaring hole of bigoted original works possibly getting popular. I think overall the wattys just needs to be better regulated.

Oh i think thisight be my fight actual anon question! And, god what a throw back! 😂 I was really mad back then.

Honestly, a lot of people, including myself, asked this question. The answer is rather simple. Fanfiction is what made wattpad what it is. I am not saying that original works on platforms like wattpad or a03! I love those!

But the reason as to why so many of us were angry is because we noticed a pattern of wattpad pushing the fanfiction authors back, giving them less and less recognition whereas they promoted books that looked..let's say very similar quite a few times.

Fanfiction doesn't work for all award events in the world, that much is obvious and we know that! But wattpad has done it from the start, always just for recognition, and it always worked. And then they started chipping away at it. It wasn't and still isn't money or winning that we strive for. We merely want that recognition back.

On top of that, they recently took away dms, which was one of the primary sources of how authors talked to their readers and vice versa without overcrowding the comments and having people's devices blow up with notifications. I find this a very saddening thing because I connected with so many people through this cause some simply didn't feel comfortable commenting.

As for the bigoted part of fanfiction. I used to be part of HP fandom and was very active in it. I still have some old merch (fairy lights, 2 wands, stuff like that you know) that I got as presents for holidays and birthdays and it would be hard to give them away. Not because they are HP related but because they were given to me by people that i care about and they worked very hard to give those things to me on those special days. And i still appreciate their effort because i love them. So to me it would feel rude to give it throw it away.

But I also started growing up and found out what type of person JKR really was. This hurt me because if what the fandom meant to me and many friends, some of them part of the LGBTQ+. I still like the fandom but I do not buy nor play anything related to it. I might read a fanfic once in a while because many people in the fandom have taken the work and changed things about it to be more inclusive or fix things up as a big fuck you to JKR, as they should. But I still keep it limited most of the time.

The fact that behaviour like this, from people like JKR, happens is a very disappointing thing. And I sadly cannot change the fact that there are still people out there that support JKR and what she stands for and are also writers. But like I said, there are writers out there who change it up to be better and more inclusive. It is a search of trial and error.

As for what writers like you and me can do against that, is just write from the heart and the stories we wanna tell and hopefully convince others to work like that as well. Promoting through tropes is an evolution on our field due to the growing involvement of bookstagram and booktok. For some it's a good thing and others find it terrible. I don't necessarily have an opinion on it because I don't go searching for books merely for their tropes. But if others do it, who am I to judge?

Searching for specific ships. Now, I do this sometimes when I really like a ship (romantic or friendship) and I wanna read something about them. But this is just for fanfiction. I don't really see this for original books. I do see people shipping characters of original books, which can be expected. I would personally choose a story of what the summary is or something but I would never read a book specifically because I heard about a ship I thought was cute. At least that's the way I interpret what you said/asked.

As for A03 fanfiction overshadowing the original platform. I think it depends what the platform focuses on primarily. I think A03 is largely made up of fanfiction and always has been that way. I do wish, because I know what it is like, that original works on A03 would get more recognition. But A03's platform as a whole has been always different compared to wattpad, which was always very user oriented with the several contests, ambassador profiles, other extra services etc. I dare say that wattpad has been treating fanfiction like a03 treats original works. But that's just a thought.

But in the end, I agree with you about wattys needing to be more regulated and fair.

So I hope this cleared up some of my thoughts! It was written during class so sorry if not everything was completely coherent! 😂

[beevean]

I just don’t get Sonadow. Maybe it’s because I view them more as rivals so much that I don’t see how that will shift their relationship to lovers at all. I do like seeing small moments of these two bonding when Sonic isn’t as snarky and Shadow isn’t as closed off but that’s it. No hate to people who like Sonadow but I just can’t see them together as a couple.

I'm the last person you should ask then 😂

Gay rival ships are, by far, the most popular ships in a fandom, it's just facts - Drarry, Sasunaru, Narumitsu (for a value of rivals from the third game onward), Kazumaji (also more or less), just on the top of my head, fans see two men glaring at each other and their collective braincell goes "but what if they kissed tho 😳"

(I'm not superior to this btw. I've also fallen in the same trap. Gay rival ships are appealing for a reason)

Anyway... I don't care for Sonadow because I simply don't care for their rivarly.

Maybe it's because I played Heroes and ShTH before SA2 so I just have never experienced the hype around the character, but I think Shadow is the weakest rival for Sonic. The two... smacktalk a little? They've fought... three times? Four if you count the non canon endings of ShTH? I don't feel the connection, I don't feel the intimacy, I don't feel the deep personal bond that characterizes rival ships. Their parallels are weak (I can't see Shadow as "Sonic but dark", he's just Shadow, his unique person), their rivarly is barely there, the closest thing to a bonding moment they have is when Shadow compliments Sonic for pulling off a Chaos Control with a fake Emerald. My favorite banter of theirs is still "Not you again" "Nice to see you too" in ShTH, but as funny as it is, it's not enough to convince me that the two think of each other as special.

This is why I much prefer Sonuckles and Sonegg. Sonic and Knuckles walk the line between friends and rivals, and the two clash under many aspects: speed vs. strength, freedom vs. duty, chillness vs. hotheadedness... but they care for each other, and you can tell because they help each other even after they just fought for a silly reason. As for Sonegg, they're by far the closest enemies and their relationship is quite unique, they absolutely are as close as rivals tend to be, even if they genuinely hate each other and there's next to no fondness between them unless you consider eggman's bio in origins canon. Hell, at this point even Sonurge makes more sense, at least Surge has the excuse that she's programmed to be obsessed with him!

(just to be clear, I don't always ship with the objective of seeing two characters fall in love. I can appreciate a non-romatic ship too! But Sonadow is often depicted in a cute romantic way, so...)

I don't see any of that in Sonadow, and I wonder if I just missed something lol. But considering that a lot of people ship because ~aesthetic~, even if it doesn't make sense (there are some popular ships I can't stand for this reason...), I just stopped to be bothered.

Sonic and Shadow becoming close friends and allies? Absolutely a development I love to see. Them falling in love? Why? They can absolutely appreciate each other as people, but there's that spark missing. Them just having a fuckbuddies relationship? Not nearly enough tension for that IMO. Shadow's best bond is with Rouge and you can't change my mind :)

[yoon-kooks]

The Devil Writes Romance | myg

Pairing: Yoongi x Reader

Genre: fluff, angst, college!AU, fuckboy!AU, fanficwriter!Yoongi

Summary: When you’re assigned to work with Min Yoongi on a final project for your Writing Fiction course, you stumble upon the fuck boy’s secret identity as a sappy fanfic writer. With the heart and soul of an aspiring editor, you’re somehow convinced by the boy himself to help make his fictional romance more realistic and heartfelt. Before you know it, you’ve made a not-so-innocent pinky promise with the devil.

Word Count: 3.2k

Warnings: mentions of sex :-)

A/N: this is basically a pilot that sets up a lot of plot for a potential series so lmk if you like the idea and would continue reading it as a series! also special shoutout to @chewymoustachio​ for the love & support 💖

As spring semester comes to a close, your only goal is to make it through finals week unscathed. Like many of your fellow English majors, most of your finals are extensive papers rather than traditional exams. Normally this would not stress you out, but your Writing Fiction course has thrown a curveball your way: half of your grade is dependent on your partner, Min Yoongi.

Personally, you’ve never been a fan of partner or group projects because you always somehow end up with incompetent teammates who either do a half-assed job or ghost you until the day before it’s due. Either way, you’ve learned and become accustomed to relying only on yourself.

However, as your Writing Fiction class has taught you, a writer’s world is not built upon independence. Rather, it’s built upon the opposite. Writers depend on others for support, feedback, and revision. That’s where your final project comes on.

For your final project, everyone in your class signed up for the role of either a writer or editor, and you’ve been randomly paired up with someone who chose the opposite. It’s no secret to anyone that you dream of becoming an editor in the industry. You love the idea of reviewing other writers’ works and providing them with as much feedback and constructive criticism as possible. Naturally, you signed up to be an editor.

As fate would have it, you find yourself paired with the boy who’s pretty much slept with the entire class, including the TA, and allegedly the professor. The only person left unchecked on his list is you. Somehow, you’ve heard more gossip about his sex life than his skills as a writer, which is why you believe you’re fucked for this final.

“Hey, Partner,” Yoongi catches up with you in the hall after class. His signature cedarwood cologne is too heavy to ignore as he strides beside you. “Are you free tonight?”

“To brainstorm some story ideas?” You tilt your head and add an innocent tone to mask the skepticism. Truthfully, you know what he really wants. It’s not your first rodeo.

“I actually already have a story in mind,” he says. “But I was thinking you and I could-”

“What’s the story about?” Because you’d much rather hear about that than one of Yoongi’s many excuses to get in your pants.

“You’ll just have to wait and see,” he shrugs as the two of you walk out of the building and into the beaming afternoon sun. You lift an arm to block the light out of your face, only to realize the boy’s shadow blocks it for you. Apparently, there are perks to walking with a buddy after class. “I’ll send you the draft tonight.”

“The professor literally just assigned the project and it’s not due for another week,” you raise an eyebrow. Weird, you’ve never seen a college kid so proactive and eager to get a head start on their final project. Something tells you the boy is just spouting bullshit and telling you what you want to hear. “You don’t have to rush and write all ten thousand words in a single night…”

“Well I don’t have any other plans tonight,” he says. “Unless you want to-”

“Nice try, Yoongi.” You start walking further ahead of the boy. You’re forced to squint as to not be blinded by the sun. “I guess you can have fun writing your story, then.”

“You really know how to play hard to get, Y/N…” Yoongi whines in that raspy voice of his, eliciting the tiniest smirk on your face. You might not approve of his fuck boy tendencies, but you’re also not opposed to teasing him a bit.

“If you really want to impress me, keep your word and send the draft tonight.” You spin around and wave farewell as you battle the sun. “Your editor will be waiting.”

As soon as you arrive home, you realize Yoongi isn’t the only one without any Friday night plans. With nothing to do, a large part of you hopes your partner keeps his promise so you can at least try to be productive over the weekend. But ten thousand words is a lot to write in one night. It’s more than likely that he won’t be able to pull it off.

In an attempt to wind down, you scroll through the blog feeds of your favorite writers. Many of them, such as @suga-fix and @jk-seagull, are college students like you, so you can appreciate all the time and effort they put into their craft on top of their school work. While the fan in you loves to shower them with sweet and supportive messages, the editor in you hopes to one day be able to also provide feedback on a professional level.

At the very top of your feed is a short post from @suga-fix, a romance fanfic writer whom you recently found while scouring the #jiminscenarios tag for something free of smut.

“Does anyone else struggle to ask their crush out or is it just me? Asking for a friend.”

You giggle at the innocent question. In addition to writing the sappiest Jimin fanfics, Suga is known to post snippets of his own nonexistent love life on his blog. From what you understand, he’s a boy who’s never experienced true love firsthand. Recently, however, he’s been gushing over his pretty classmate. You’re waiting for the day when he builds up enough courage and finally lands a date.

Until then, you’re satisfied with reading his ongoing fictional love story featuring the popular idol, Park Jimin, as a struggling romance novelist who finds inspiration in a skeptical wedding photographer. You absolutely adore the story, the characters, and the underlying narrative, but the editor in you can point out an area for improvement: his romance game. 

You notice the two main characters lack a certain level of chemistry to get the readers quaking and itching for more. Most of the time, the intimate scenes end with poor Jimin getting friendzoned, which certainly has its charm and humor. But truthfully, you expect a little more love from a romance fic.

You suspect that, to some extent, this is intentional as the characters are the type to dance around intimacy and have pessimistic views on romance overall. However, you also wouldn’t be surprised if Suga’s own personal inexperience with romantic scenarios is what holds him back the most.

After catching up on your socials, eating dinner, and hopping out of the shower, you sit in the darkness of your room and check one more thing before calling it a night. No email, no text, no draft from your partner. Not that you were actually expecting anything, but it would’ve been nice for the fuck boy to prove you wrong.

To be fair, you know how long and painful ten thousand words can be. If Yoongi is in fact sprinting through those ten thousand words and gets them to you by the time you wake up, you’ll consider him a man of his word.

[4:56AM] Yoongi💋 “I emailed you the thing”

[7:24AM] Y/N “Ooh, I’ll take a look 👁👁”

[7:25AM] Y/N “Btw I don’t appreciate you adding an emoji to your contact info on my phone”

After changing Yoongi’s contact name to something more appropriate, you go into your email and find the story draft that the boy had sent at exactly 4:55AM. The word count on the document says 10,382. Not too shabby, Min Yoongi.

You grab your morning caffeine and crack open your laptop to read your partner’s story on the big screen. Right away, you notice the document is titled “Untitled1” which is never a great sign, but you’re willing to forgive him if its content is stellar.

The first thing that puts a smile on your face is the main character, Jimothy. His name reminds you of your favorite idol, Jimin, with a playful touch. He’s the romance novelist who attends his friend’s wedding where he has a chance encounter with a pretty wedding photographer-

Wait. You’re pretty sure you’ve heard this story before. In fact, you know exactly where it came from. You pull up Suga’s Jimin fic and put it side-by-side against Yoongi’s version. While it’s not exactly a copy-and-paste situation, the romance novelist x wedding photographer premise is too similar for it to be a mere coincidence.

At first glance, you find it funny that Yoongi took the time to reword everything to not be caught by the plagiarism police. If you didn’t know any better, you’d assume he did a quick search of Jimin fanfiction and picked one that was moderately popular but not viral enough for anyone to notice. Jimin fanfic just so happens to be your guilty pleasure, so there’s absolutely no way you’d let a plagiarist slip one past you.

But upon further review, after digesting the entirety of the fic, you find that Yoongi’s flow and choice of words are eerily similar to Suga’s style without recycling a single line. Likewise, you notice the same lack of chemistry in both versions of the story. You suppose this can only mean one thing, and you need to confront him about it in person. Because the last thing you want is for him to ghost you like everyone else you’ve ever worked with.

[8:42AM] Y/N “I just finished looking it over”

[8:43AM] Y/N “Wanna get coffee & discuss? ☕️📖”

[8:45AM] Yoongi🐍 “Oh? I thought you weren’t interested in a date with me 🥺”

[8:46AM] Y/N “Let’s meet in about an hour at the coffeehouse on campus?”

[8:46AM] Yoongi🐍 “See ya there, my editor”

As you stir the oat milk into your second dose of caffeine for the morning, you wonder how you can bring up your suspicions in an appropriate and professional way. Should you confront him about it immediately, gently coax him in that direction, or take a more passive approach to see if he’ll mention it on his own? Because if you’re going to be this boy’s editor, you want to do it right.

“Thoughts?” Yoongi enters the chat with slightly damp hair and an iced Americano in hand. Your only thought in that moment is about how fucking good he smells, even in the presence of the rich aromas of your favorite roasted coffee beans. But you’ll leave those thoughts to yourself.

“My first thought was that you sent me a document titled Untitled1,” you say.

“I have a working title,” he assures you. “But I’m curious to hear what clever titles my editor has come up with after reading through the whole thing.”

“Pink Cheek Syndrome sounds appropriate.” Because that’s the title of Suga’s original fic. It’s also the term coined by Jimothy to describe couples who aren’t as in love as they’d like to believe. It’s a facade to fool everyone, including themselves.

“Great minds think alike after all.” Yoongi leans in to give you a high-five, but you just throw a balled up napkin at his palm. Confess. Just confess already.

“Can I ask what inspired the concept?” You bite your lip. “You don’t strike me as the romantic type.”

“Don’t you ever feel like people get into relationships just for the sake of being in a relationship?”

“Yeah.” All the time, in fact.

“It’s pretty shallow if you ask me,” he says with a nonchalant chuckle, as if he’s not the shallowest person on campus when it comes to established relationships. “PCS is just a commentary on people like that vs people like you and me.”

You and him? You’re not sure you have anything in common with someone who breaks hearts and sleeps around so casually.

“Sounds like something a fanfic writer would come up with.” Because it is.

“Sounds like something a fanfic reader would say,” he throws back at you.

“In fact, there’s a Jimin fanfic I read once called Pink Cheek Syndrome,” you say. The dose of coffee moving up Yoongi’s straw suddenly freezes. “You’re the original writer, right?”

He swallows hard and raises an eyebrow. “What makes you say that?”

“The writing style matches even though you didn’t copy and paste,” you scroll back through Yoongi’s version for reference. “And besides, scrambling to write ten thousand words in one night is typical fanfic writer behavior. A true plagiarist doesn’t know what it means to put those hours in.”

“Nothing gets past your sharp eyes, huh, Y/N…” Yoongi sighs, failing to hide behind his Americano. “I’m equally impressed as I am scared.”

“Wait, so you’re really Suga?” Your eyes widen. Suddenly you’re overcome by a wave of emotions. Excited, nervous, star-struck. But most of all? Confused. “How?”

“Just don’t tell anyone.” He picks up his phone and starts typing away at something.

“I won’t,” you say, also pulling out your phone to check up on the @suga-fix blog. Sure enough, there’s a stream of several new posts from a few seconds ago.

“fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckFUCK”

“I feel so exposed 😔”

“Quick, everyone act like this isn’t a fanfic blog.”

“We can pretend to be like a porn blog or smth”

“I can read everything you’re posting, you know.” You show your blog feed to Yoongi, who’s still busy keysmashing. When he finally glances up from his screen to yours, the look on his face is both flattered and distressed.

“You follow me, too?” The boy takes a long sip of his Americano, shifting his beady little eyes and plotting his next move. “What’s your URL?”

“You’re totally going to block me,” you frown. “I already told you, I’m not going to tell anyone…”

As you continue to scroll through Yoongi’s blog, you notice his post is gone from the day before. Perhaps that’s what the boy is desperately trying to hide.

“By the way, is it true that Min Yoongi, resident fuck boy, has a crush on someone?” You get excited because that’s not something you hear everyday. In regards to Yoongi, it’s always been sex, sex, and more sex. He’s notorious around campus for having one-night stands and breaking hearts the morning after. You’d never imagine a boy like him having an innocent crush on anyone.

“Where’d you hear that?” The boy across from you gradually sinks deeper and deeper into his seat every time you open your mouth to expose him further.

“You made a post yesterday about not being able to talk to your crush properly,” you giggle. “It was kind of cute.”

“I was talking about my friend.”

“You can’t fool me, Yoongi. I’m not that oblivious.” You take a sassy sip of your coffee and lean forward. “So who’s your crush? Is it someone in our class?”

“Don’t worry about it, Y/N,” he shoos you away and slides a hard copy of his draft in your direction. “Let’s not get distracted from why we’re really here.”

“Hold it, I’m not just being nosy for the gossip, you know,” you say. “From an editor’s perspective, I think the romance in your story could benefit from you interacting more with your crush.”

For a moment, Yoongi just gives you a look. You can see the wheels spinning in his head. “Well, that person doesn’t seem very interested in me, so…”

“Unrequited love?” you gasp. The plot thickens.

“Yeah,” he chuckles at your enthusiasm. “But you did give me an idea just now.”

You examine his handsome face for a hint of what’s to come. His signature Fuck Boy Smirk tells you he’s up to no good again. “I’m listening.”

“You’re my editor, right?” he asks. You nod. “And your main critique is that I should up my romance game, right?”

You nod again.

“What if you help me make the romance scenes more believable and realistic?” The boy watches as you blink your wide eyes, stunned at his suggestion. You know he doesn’t just mean that from an editorial standpoint. Surely there’s an ulterior motive here. “And before you jump to any conclusions, no, this does not include sex.”

Oh.

You’re reminded that Yoongi doesn’t write smut, despite how much of a fuck boy he is in real life. Because you’re sure he has the capability and personal experience to write some steamy and wild sex scenes. And yet, he chooses to focus on hardcore romance instead, something he himself is much less familiar with. It’s mind-blowing to think that a boy as experienced in bed as Yoongi could be so inexperienced elsewhere.

Why does he write the opposite of how he lives?

“I don’t think that’s how editors work,” you finally respond to Yoongi’s proposal, flipping through his draft and writing in the margins. You have to admit, the boy has a gift. His stories would no doubt skyrocket in popularity if the lovey-dovey scenes could draw out true, raw emotions as though you were there living in those moments. As a reader, you want him to pull at your heartstrings, smash your heart into a million pieces, and slowly put it back together. All of that can be achieved if the writer gets some hands-on experience in the love department. “But I get what you’re saying.”

“So is that a yes or a no?” He sips down the rest of his Americano as you continue to think your decision through.

Given what you know about Yoongi’s track record as a fuck boy, you’re hesitant. But at the same time, the ambitious editor in you knows what you want.

“It’s a yes,” you sigh. “But only if you promise me a few things.”

“Go on.”

“One, you’ll come to me if you’re struggling and need suggestions, advice, or someone to talk to.”

“Easy. You can be my editor-in-chief.”

“Two, if anyone asks, we aren’t dating.”

“Got it.”

“Three, help me study and prepare for the rest of my finals.”

“We can have study dates.”

“And lastly, please don’t sleep with anyone else while we’re doing this thing. Because that would be awkward.”

“Oh? I didn’t realize you were the possessive type, Y/N,” he smirks.

“Not trying to be That Controlling Bitch who forbids you from sleeping around, but I think it would defeat the purpose of what we’re trying to accomplish.”

“But what if this goes on for a while?” Yoongi strokes his imaginary Santa beard. “You expect me to practice abstinence forever?”

“It won’t go on forever, Yoongi,” you giggle at the boy’s silly remark. “Because eventually, you’ll find someone who can bring out those romantic feelings better than our faux intimacy ever will.”

“But you’ll still be my editor-in-chief?”

“If everything works out, then I don’t see why not.” You want to be optimistic about a long-term deal, but you can’t seem to rid yourself of the doubt stuck in the back of your mind. Because humans, not just fuck boys like Yoongi, seem to have a hard time keeping their promises. “I only ask that you don’t break my trust.”

Before responding, the boy meets his eyes with yours. You suppose tender eye contact is a skill he acquired from his flirty lifestyle. You, on the other hand, blink away. Eye contact longer than a glance has always made you feel vulnerable.

“I won’t, Y/N,” he says, coating his raspy voice with a layer of honey. It’s almost as intoxicating as his cedarwood cologne, but that’s another thought you’ll keep to yourself.

You watch as he slides his pinky into view, over the draft and coffees to make it official. After cracking a smile at his childish gesture, you wrap your pinky around his, thus marking the beginning of your deal with the devil.

[writingsorrantings]

Friends Don’t Look at Friends That Way Pt2 (jj x reader)

Word Count: Around 1,300 (sorry!lol)

Warnings: Alcohol mentions, angst

Music Rec: One Way St. - Jhene Aiko (just a good song and is mentioned in the chapter :)

Part One

 Recap: “And with that JJ laid back again and you found yourself in his arms. It wasn’t right, but you could get used to the way it felt even though you wanted more.”

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It had been about a week since that night, but your head was still as clouded. JJ hadn’t called you once which was definitely not your style and it was beginning to worry you. Is he ok? Or maybe I was too forward?

Maybe he just doesn’t want to be around you anymore.

 You shook your head as a half-assed attempt to put a stop to the self-deprecating thoughts and instead focused on the music playing through your headphones as you came home from work, but that proved to be less than helpful. “Going the wrong way down a one way street.” Jhene couldn’t have said it better and frankly you felt like a semi carrying a shit ton of rejection and hurt was barreling towards you, no evidence of it slowing down and ready for a head on collision. Bracing before a crash, emotional or otherwise, had never been your specialty. You already felt like shit and you couldn’t imagine what would happen if he actually talked to you about it. You had never been one for confrontation, but he had left you on read for a week now and you were going nuts trying to figure out what you did. 

Your feet hit the pavement in a slow rhythm, but as you began to think about what he was doing (or not doing) your pace began to pick up. At this point you were angry, how could he be so childish?! You were just trying to talk to him and he didn’t even bother looking at the last message! That really hurt your feelings and you could feel the tears welling up in your eyes. Fuck him then. Your shoes hit your colorful doormat as you entered your house prepared to look the hottest you had ever looked for the kegger tonight. Walking into the kitchen you quickly grabbed the bottle of vodka from your parents cabinet knowing that they wouldn’t miss it and marched up your stairs. One thing was for sure, you didn’t need JJ to have fun. Or at least that’s what you told yourself. 

Unfortunately JJ’s thoughts were just as scattered. It was only 2 in the afternoon and he had already begun pregaming for the celebration tonight, but then again it might have just been a happy coincidence. He stared at the texts you had sent him and all he could do is run a hand over his face only pausing to take a gulp of the beer in his hand. 

“wanna surf tom?” --read 8:02am

“????” --read 8:23pm

“you good?” --read 7:48am 

“just talk to me” --read 10:47am

“what did i do” -- delivered fri 4:30 

        read sun 10:23

Fuck. He didn’t want to hurt her so he kept his distance, yet he still managed to make her feel bad. Once again this proved to himself that he was just a walking disaster. He knew by Saturday night that if he didn’t back away now it would just get so much worse. John B. came home the morning after to JJ huddled in the blue sheets of his spare room, eyes rimmed with red and for once it wasn’t from smoking. After hauling him out of bed and forcing him to take a shower, John B. questioned him over breakfast that JJ had tried to refuse multiple times. A text from you lit up his screen, and his face immediately dropped. He was a fucking wreck and anyone who saw him could figure it out. He loved you.  There was no point in denying it now, especially to John B. A boy who spent years trying to convince his best friend that he was a good person who deserved a healthy, happy love. Needless to say, he still wasn’t successful despite his efforts.

“She makes you so happy dude, I mean we can all see it. You are so damn happy. She makes you do things that you would never think of doing and you love it….She...She makes you think before you act because you know that it would destroy her if anything happened to you. For once you actually give a shit about your future and that’s because of her!”

By this point John B. was almost yelling as he had no clue how else to get it through his head that you loved each other. 

Calming down he said, “ I mean really...is this what you want? Because you deserve better than this….She deserves better than this.”

Not a single muscle in his face moved when he stood up from the chair, the screech from the legs rubbing on the ground echoing as the sentence hung in the air. A part of JJ knew John B. was right, but ultimately he would never risk your happiness to make room for his own. 

“Thanks for the breakfast.”

Feet padding against the wooden floor, JJ made his exit right into the room he came from, no regard for what his best friend had said. With a huff John B. decided that this was a battle he’d fight another day and left to go see Sarah. When the door slammed shut, tears fell from JJ’s eyes. It’s ok if he thought he was stupid, at the end of the day JJ was doing what he thought would help you.

Night was approaching and you were ready as ever for tonight’s festivities to begin. Kie had come over and you were screaming the words to various songs as you guys got ready for the night. It didn’t take you long as you both were never huge fans of full glam looks, but could appreciate it on other people. As you checked yourself out in the mirror you couldn’t help but smile. You were all for body positivity, but you were never a super skinny girl and sometimes that made you insecure. But today. Today you loved the way your curves filled out your too short cut offs. Between that, Kie’s halter top, and the layered necklace that fell perfectly in the middle of the deep v neckline, you were irresistible. Kie grabbed your hand and pulled you downstairs as you headed out for the party.

The dull thumps from the speakers began to get louder as you guys approached in the car and before you knew it you were parked and ready to get out, fingers wrapped around the silver handle. This was a mistake. Although it was just a flash of trepidation, Kiara had seen it and asked, “(y/n), you ok?” and frankly you had no clue. Were you ok? I mean no you weren’t and you definitely wouldn’t be tonight, but did you need to worry her. The silence was answer enough for her and she studied your face. 

“We don’t have to go y’know. I’m ok with not going and I can just tell the guys we hungout all night?” 

“No, no it’s ok. It’s just...JJ hasn’t been talking to me lately and I don’t know why, but to be honest I think I do, but I don’t want to think that way.”

Kie stared at you waiting for you to continue with a slight nod to show she was listening. After a moment of hesitation, you turned your body so that your open back was no longer against the leather seat and your knees were pointed at her despite how small the car was. Even though you were facing her, your eyes refused to meet hers as you focused on chipping away at your nail polish while you spoke.

“I..I just...we had a moment last saturday. I mean I thought we did and I think I like him and...and I think he knows and is just avoiding me until he finds the right way to reject me. He just kept leaving me on read and I figured the best revenge was to look great tonight. But honestly, I guess I just wanted to make him realize that I can be more than a friend.”

Kie had had enough. JJ was acting like a dumbass and she wasn’t going to let him hurt her friend. You are the sweetest person that she knows and you deserved a guy who would give you the same effort that you always gave others. She began to smile as she started planning the rest of your night in her head and she was going to make sure you had the time of your life. She reached into the backseat and handed you the bottle you had snagged earlier and after spinning the top off you took your first of many shots that night. 

“You deserve to have a good night. Without JJ. Let’s fucking do this.”

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Part 3

Sorry to leave you guys on another cliffhanger I hate it when writers do it lol! But honestly thank you guys so much for all of the messages that you have sent me and all of the likes that you have left on part one. It was my first ever fanfic so it felt super good to see that you guys enjoyed it. I am going to start working on part 3 right after I post this, but idk if I will stop the story with that part. I’m new to this so let me know if you want to be on a taglist of if you have any requests for any character from any show. I’m not picky! Anyways love you all and I hope you’re staying safe. 

[destinygoldenstar]

Based on my fanfic season ‘Sketched Artistry Pretty Cure’

Rei Takeo is a highly talented loner. She values good will and effort with a passion, and does everything to show people these things, no matter what format she has to show them with. She is also highly talented with her athleticism, her intellect, and especially her singing and her writing, as she is highly known by the teachers as a fantastical novelist. But while she does have some well meaning moments, Rei comes across to others as unapproachable, given she is tough, hot headed, and incredibly strict about helping others. She can have a really sarcastic demeanor at points. When she sees something she doesn’t approve of, she’s quick to jump in the fight and call people out, even if she becomes a victim in the process. If it gets to a point where Rei becomes in the wrong and things don’t go her way, she becomes distant, and even stubborn. Rei really does care about people’s well being though, and she does her best to stand up for them. However, she can never seem to stand up for herself, and its because of this that she refuses to show her creative side to anyone, telling people that she’s not creative and that she can’t write, even if the opposite is the truth.

Her refusal to show people her artwork came from trauma in her past. Before Rei was this tough jock, she was an even sweeter girl, more energetic, and kinder, where she came across by many as weird, but beautiful, and back then she showcased her talents to everyone, especially through her writing. It was bad enough that her tough demeaner now made vocalists shun her out despite her good voice. But one day, her elementary class had to write a fantasy story for a school report, and when Rei wrote her story, it blew her entire class away, to a point where she was granted an award for her work by her entire school that she would receive in the spring... that would have changed Rei’s life forever, if it weren’t for the fact that when she revealed her talents, it caused people to become jealous and turn on her. Someone she thought was a friend did exactly that, manipulated Rei and got her suspended, ensuring that people Rei thought were friends looked down on her and called her a hack, that she didn’t deserve her admiration and that she was essentially worthless, that Rei’s writing was nothing but a crime that would destroy her in her life. All of that, where this ex-friend treated it as advice, that Rei should not show her creative side because stuff like this would happen again. And that scared Rei for life, where she only gained enemies by showing her creative side and she felt so ashamed of her reward that she threw it away and hid her book somewhere she could forget. Rei never trusted anyone again, and never let people know that she could write. She still did write, as it was what made her happy, but she never showed anyone them. She even cut her hair to ruin her gorgeous look, so that nobody could think she was worth anything, even if her kind will still lingers in her where she tries to help others be better at themselves.

Rei was taken to Sketching Crafts Academy against her will by her mother, because her mother recognized Rei’s writing talent and wanted her daughter to express it to people again. Rei was not thrilled with going to this school, and she kept her nose in a book and pushed people away. That is until she meets Keiko Sakura, a girl who was just as naïve with showcasing her art as Rei was, but when she first crashed into Keiko at the art museum, she pushed her away, but not before she granted Keiko advice on how to better her bird painting. 

About a week later at a park, Keiko ended up getting run over by jocks who scold her for her sketch she was making on the spot. Rei sees this and jumps in to defend Keiko, claiming that she was minding her own business and so should they, but when they don’t listen, she throws her book at them. Once they retreat, Keiko thanks Rei, but Rei only stubbornly tells her to be careful where she steps before she continues her walk to class. Keiko however, not only thought Rei was cool, but also followed her because Rei didn’t pick up her book after the encounter, so Keiko tried to give it back. Keiko does figure out that Rei is in her class, and becomes confused when Rei claims to their teacher that she couldn’t write, but ends up getting the highest score in the class on storyboarding, and Keiko realizes that she had never seen a fantasy book like the one Rei had in their libraries. Keiko does eventually find the chance to give Rei back her book, and she asks where Rei got it, but Rei states that it’s none of her business. Keiko however recognizes a yellow neon pen Rei was using to write in the book, and she realizes that Rei wrote that story herself. They do get to express their efforts to each other, with Rei presenting herself as an altruist and Keiko looking up to her as a talented writer and leagues ahead of her. Keiko even tries to encourage Rei to show off her book for their upcoming short story project, but Rei refuses and comments that Keiko doesn’t understand the success of art as much as she thinks she does. Keiko manages to tell Sora about Rei having a neon pen, but by the time their project gets explained, Keiko is partnered up with Rei on it. Sora does try to look after Keiko given that fact, but Rei and Keiko are eventually forced to work on it as just the two of them. The whole time, Rei offers Keiko’s ideas for a story, but its soon realized that Keiko is both creative and disorganized, where Rei tries to improve her ideas as a logical yet passionate writer, and Rei isn’t afraid to call out Keiko’s wild style. (Honestly, Keiko and Rei were the first OCs I made for this series, and they became huge foils to each other as a result, Keiko being an open yet overly naïve with a wild creative style, and Rei being more stubborn and practical with a passionate style in artwork.) They get their short story with some extra editing from Sora, and it becomes a good success... except for the fact that Rei completely denies having any credit for the project, where Keiko felt the opposite. Keiko finally decides to reread the storyboards they made together, as well as look into Rei’s novel to see her talent for herself, and it only makes Keiko want to figure out why Rei is so hard on herself when she clearly has a creative passion. Keiko finds Rei at the same park where she helped her, and Keiko tries to convince Rei that she should embrace her passions, and that Keiko saw for herself that she has it, but it only makes Rei throw the book away and tell Keiko that no one cares for her, or her passion, why would someone care now? Keiko claims that she cares, and that gets Rei to hesitate, asking Keiko if she actually liked what she read, to which Keiko claims that she loved it. 

A new monster is created awhile later, and Rei is knocked to a tree. Keiko and Sora transform into Cure Cherry and Cure Azure to fight it, but because the creature fights with fire, neither of their finishers manage to work on it. (I forgot to mention, Cure Cherry fights with paint, her finisher being ‘Cherry Splatter’ where she uses paint bombs. Cure Azure however fights with glitches and can use fabric as chains, her finisher being ‘Azurica Calculation’ where she glitches color onto the monsters) The general finds the short story Keiko and Rei made together, and he rips it apart in disgust, where this catches Rei’s eye as she wakes up, triggering her. Rei scolds the general for destroying a great fantasy, recalling her previous talk with Keiko that gets her to realize Keiko’s identity as Cure Cherry, and Rei actively jumps in front to protect her new friend, even throwing an extinguisher at the monster with equal hot headed energy. Rei expresses that she doesn’t know how to show people her art, but she loves writing fantasies, and those fantasies should be treated with the same love she put into them. This awakens her power as the third member, and the fire powered cure of the team as the golden writer, Cure GoldenAsh. (Cure Cherry nicknames her Cure G)

Rei still continues to be a foil to Keiko as a counter to the pink lead, as they both have different ways of approaching being Pretty Cure that they don’t always agree with. Keiko is a kind and active leader, but had insane ideas that don’t always pan out, plus she is naïve about criticism, especially when the pressure of public appreciation for artwork and the ego that plagues every artist comes into play later in the story. Rei meanwhile is very strict with how things run and isn’t afraid to call out her teammates for better or worse, and it sometimes blinds her into thinking she’s the only one who knows what to do, even when she doesn’t. However, the two despite being opposites, are able to call out each other and compliment each other at the same time, Rei helping Keiko deal with social pressure in being an artist, and Keiko encouraging Rei slowly but surely to return to her authorship.  

So I kind of created an art themed Pretty Cure. Add it to the list of Wattpad stories I claim I’m going to make, but never do. And if you know me, I love this concept of literal creativity, and since I’ve been on a magical girl run lately, why not make an art themed Pretty Cure. Seriously, I only briefly made this about a year ago, forgot about it, and bought it back in just two weeks with characters and their story arcs. So let me know if you want me to do something like this for the other Cures in this fanmade season, or if you actually want me to make one.

[winchester-with-wings]

Pampered Birthday

Dean Winchester x Reader // Patron Benefit Fanfic!

Author's Notes:  Slowly but surely getting back into the writer life! Trying to catch up with season 15 and every time it reignites my love of Sam and Dean! This one is for @abbessolute​

Summary/Request:  Birthday fic with Dean! Again season 15 had a bathtub that inspired this fic. It's fluffy!

Word Count: 1850ish

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The velvety bellow of a blues song on vinyl echoes through the halls of the bunker. The place is dim, any lights that are on are giving off a soft, warm glow.

You feel like you’ve gone back in time and in this world of supernatural beings, the chances of that were not zero percent. So your guard is up and you stay quiet as you go deeper into the bunker. You perform a sweep, walking slowly through the library and then to the kitchen. You put your groceries on the table and move on. Sam’s room is empty; he’s out of town, checking in with other hunters. So is yours.

The song changes to something more familiar, classic rock. Something you know belongs here. Those are Dean’s records. It must be coming from Dean’s room. So maybe there’s nothing wrong?

But hadn’t Dean said he was going out for ammo supplies before settling in for a night of making devil’s trap bullets and rock salt shells. He’d invited you help but you’d declined, preferring to take a long bath and read a book.

It was your birthday after all.

Sam had expressed his regrets for not being in town, promising to make it up to you when he returned. But what was Dean’s excuse? Did he even know it was your birthday? Was your life becoming a scarier, sadder version of 16 Candles? Dean definitely qualified as your Jake Ryan. The handsome hunk who didn’t realize you were pining for him. You’re convinced he sees you as a sister rather than a woman. And forgetting your “sibling’s” birthday...it was definitely plausible when you recall that he’d once forgotten to acknowledge Sam’s birthday. Sam never let him live it down either. But you wouldn’t hold it against Dean. You hadn’t exactly broadcast the impending date.

You’re a little more relaxed as you approach Dean’s room. Since you’re all like family, you don’t even bother to knock. The light is off and there’s no one in here.

“Dean?” you say into the dark. There’s no answer. The music continues to play, perhaps even the volume turning down a little. Your guard is back up, you reach for the sheathed knife you always keep on your belt.

You realize that the air feels warmer as you approach the bathroom. It smells like cinnamon. It’s enough of a comforting aroma that your grip on the knife falters. The closer you get to the bathroom, the more confident you are that this is where the sound is coming from. Candle light flickers on the wall before you round the corner and enter the large bathroom.

You stop in your tracks, taking in the sight of the man in a dark gray robe hovering over the bathtub, lighting another candle.

“Dean?”

He curses as the flaming match burns his fingers. “I thought I had a little more time,” he laments as he stands up and turns around. He’s wearing flannel pajama pants and a plain t-shirt underneath the robe. He spreads his arms wide, directly your gaze to look over the room.

“What? What is this? What’s going on?” Dean’s record player is in the corner, a stack of your favorite records beside it. The large bathtub--it’s built to stay in place in the center of the room with two steps to get in and wide ledges on every side--is being filled with steaming hot water, an open bottle of your favorite bubble bath is on one of the edges. There are candles everywhere, enough that most of the lights in the room are off and you can still see.

“Happy birthday, Y/N,” Dean beams at you.

“Wh-D-Dean, you didn’t have to do this.”

“Ah, but I did. It’s your birthday and this is what you wanted to do tonight right? Take a hot bath and read?” He picks up a book. A romance novel. “I bought this one because the half-naked cowboy on the cover looks like me,” He smirks and you can’t stop yourself from giggling. “I’ve seen you read romance novels before and I know you and Sam love your rom-coms, so I figured I’d follow his example.” You blush at the thought of Dean purchasing the item.

“This is too much.” You fight off the hot tears brimming in your eyes. Dean shrugs.

“I mean, maybe I went a little overboard on the candles. But I’m sure we’ll use them again for something.” It’s only a slight reminder of the world outside of this room where rituals will be performed and the world will need saving. Dean notices the tears forming in your eyes. “Hey, hey, what’s wrong?”

“I just...Dean, I’m not worth all this. All this effort. It’s just a birthday. We have bigger things to focus on.” Dean gets closer and reaches out for your hands. You still hadn’t let go of the knife on your belt. He looks proud for a second before separating your grip.

“Just because Chuck is a dick and the world is going to shit...doesn’t mean we can’t stop to enjoy the simple things. And honestly surviving another year as a hunter is a big deal. We should really be throwing you a big party,” he chuckles as your eyes widen.

“Oh god, please, no!”

“That’s what I thought.” Dean gives you a soft hug and a kiss on the head. “Now I’m gonna turn around and you’re going to get in that tub.”

“What? With you still in here?” All sadness has melted away, your body filling with warmth and happiness as you truly take in the sight of Dean’s handiwork. He really does care for you.

“Eh, don’t worry, the bubbles will cover you up...unfortunately.” He winks at you before turning around. Dean mumbles along to the music playing while you do as instructed. You double check that he isn’t looking before shedding your clothes and undergarments. All the while you’re thinking to yourself, what the hell am I thinking!? Getting naked in the same room as Dean Winchester?

You sink slowly into the water, it’s almost too hot--which means it’s actually just right. You manipulate the bubbles and even add some more to make sure you’re covered before letting him turn back around.

“Okay, I’m in.”

“Good. Now scoot forward.”

“What?!” Dean shirks off his robe and rolls up his pajama pants until his knees are revealed. His legs have a slight tan to them like his shoulders and arms. It has you imagining him in board shorts on a beach chair with suntan oil. It’s enough to have you distracted as he comes up behind the tub and starts climbing in, framing your shoulders with his legs as he sits on the edge.

“Now lean back.” You follow the instruction but he takes the opportunity to unsettle you and dunk you underwater. You come up sputtering and wiping the soapy water from your face.

“What the hell?”

“M’gonna wash your hair. So stop squirming,” Dean laughs, squeezing your shampoo into his hands. He must’ve stolen that from your private bathroom.

“Are you serious?”

“Shh and just let it happen. Sam will never believe you if you tell him I did this so enjoy it while it lasts,” he grumbles. You look up as he starts to card his fingers through your hair. He’s focusing on his technique it would seem, but he’s smiling at you watching him. His fingers feel amazing as they massage the soap into your scalp. You let out a small moan, sinking lower into the water. You wrap one of your arms around Dean’s leg to anchor you. “Am I doing it right?” he says softly, though the smirk can be heard plainly in his voice.

“Mm-hm…”

Dean dips a cup into the water and leans your head back. He curves one of his hands over your forehead to protect your eyes as he pours the water over your head and down your back. He does it a second time and then grabs a washcloth to rub over your shoulders. He dips it into the water and runs the fabric down your back. It’s intimate and perhaps even a little hesitant. But you lean forward, accepting the gesture and releasing another sigh.

“Is there anything else that would make this a good birthday? There’s pie in the fridge?”

“No, Dean. This...this is amazing.” You half-turn around in the tub, exposing your collarbone and maybe just a hint of the top of your breasts. “It’s more that I ever could’ve asked for.” You rest a hand on his knee. “Thank you, Dean.”

“Of course. We’re not done fighting but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t seize every moment, right?”

The idea is more sentimental that you’d expect from Dean, but then again you’d never expect this handsome man to be leaning forward right now. His hand, warm from the water, cups your face and turns it up towards him.

He presses his lips to yours, soft and tentative. When he feels your lips pucker to meet his, he kisses you again, your mouths lining up like they’re puzzle pieces, meant for each other. He ignores any straining in his back from leaning forward until it’s too late. You hear an odd noise as Dean’s foot suddenly loses its grip on the bottom of the tub and he slips into tub alongside you.

“Sonuva…!” he hisses, searching for something to grab hold of but it’s too late. Water sloshes over the sides as you scoot back to the other end of the tub. It’s big enough to accommodate the second body but I’m sure Dean isn’t thinking about that. Although you can’t help but remember that you’re naked and he’s...not. His shirt and pants are completely submerged with him and bubbles are now resting on the tip of his nose.

“Oh my gosh, are you okay?” you giggle and reach out wipe the bubbles away. He’s cross-eyed for a moment as he watches you do it. He sighs and starts to strip off the wet fabric of his shirt. It’s heavy as he throws it across the room and lands on the ground with a splat! His sun-kissed and freckled shoulders move up and down as his hands work under the water. “W-what are you doing?”

His pajama pants emerge from the water and he throws them in the same direction of his other shirt.

“Taking a bath apparently.” He pauses to dip his own head under the water. You’re mesmerized by the water droplets that stay on his lashes when he comes back up. “But don’t worry, the underwear is staying on. Now, c’mere,” Dean reaches out for you. 

He grabs your wrist and pulls you across the tub, laying your naked frame on top of his. The bubbles still hide what’s underneath and one of his arms coils around your waist, the other cradles your head as he pulls your in for another kiss. With your lips parted and his tongue delving into your mouth, it’s far from a chaste kiss.

[theexistentiallyqueer]

Okay so I’ve been thinking about that really bad Hot Take that’s been circulating about fanfiction. And it’s been kind of simmering in me. The root of the problem with it isn’t so much that it diminishes the quality of fanfiction so much as the way it characterizes two completely different genres of media.

Preface: at no point is this ever, ever, ever a diatribe or condemnation against fanart or the work fanartists put into their work. This is about the value that is ascribed to visual art vs the value ascribed to literary art. I am trying to talk specifically about the denigration of literary art in fandom spaces and the way it’s been recently, in a very popular tumblr post, martyred at the expense of queer and disabled writers and writers of color.

Fanart (as a collective genre, according to that post) - Good, artistically-driven, pure, wholesome. Fanartists draw for the sake of becoming better artists, and every work a fanartist draws or creates is made with the goal of becoming a better artist. Fanartists never draw anything that is base, silly, shippy, or smutty; if there is pornographic art, it isn’t pornographic but Erotica. There is no such thing as low- or middling-quality art, because all artists are striving to sharpen their skills and become better artists, and there are no fanartists who draw just for fun or shits and giggles. Fanartists achieve fame purely on the merit of their own artistic ability. There’s no room to criticize fanartists who attempt to cis-wash trans (or trans pesenting) characters, or fanartists who blatantly, frequently, and with frankly no impunity (as their art is reblogged, and reblogged, and reblogged) whitewash characters of color.

Fanfiction (as a collective genre, according to that post) - Smutty, ship-fodder, audience-pleasing trash. Fanfic writers write for the sake of expressing their inner boners or enacting their internal fantasies. No fanfic writers seek a sense of growth in their writing or work to improve their writing in any way. The only reason any works of fanfiction are popular is because they cater to the readership’s base instincts, and the True Authors, the Really Daring authors who write Real Literary Content, are cast the wayside.

It’s such a two-dimensional view of the situation--and it doesn’t even take into account edited content, such as gifsets, which makes up a huge portion of fandom content and has been a type of content, along with fanart, that fanfic writers have long voiced their (our) upset about getting more active & polarized attention than written works. It presents this dichotic view of fanart good/fanfiction bad. Which is also incredibly ugly and disturbing when you consider the fact that fanfiction is the earliest form of curated fan content, and fanfiction itself is inherently transformative in a way that fanart and edits are not, because fanwork in general, and and fanfiction in particular, is inherently in and of itself the public (fans) themselves overriding the corporate-owned landscape with their subversive interpretations.

Like, I have seen not-good fanart. I have seen bland, unimpressive, generic fanart. There is fanart from artists who don’t have their own unique sense of style. Fanart from artists who are just starting out and haven’t developed their skills yet. Fanart from artists who draw as a hobby, and damn they may be good, but they don’t give a fuck about contributing to The Body of Artistry because they have bills to pay and career interests outside of art, and damn, they’d really rather draw these two characters making out, or blushing at each other, or straight-up fucking, than they would create something of Great Artistic Importance. That art gets so many notes. It is liked and reblogged and shared.

And that’s all valid, because art ISN’T A COMPETITIVE SPORT. I embrace fanartists who draw just because they want to, because they don’t care about quality or artistic ideals or whatever, and just want to draw someone being happy, or sad, or angry, or getting dicked down, or whatever!!! It doesn’t matter. Draw because you want to draw. Because your art is an expression of yourself that speaks of your experiences and transgresses the definitions of the world you’ve been told to adhere to. You make art for yourself, to say fuck the system!!!! We’re just the lucky souls who get to appreciate it afterwards.

The complaints that come from fanfic writers--and yes!!! I am one, so proceed with the accusations of butthurt--are that fanart and edits get more social media attention (in the forms of likes, reblogs, retweets, shares, etc.) than fanfic does.

And it’s a valid complaint! It isn’t rooted in some alien reality that fanfiction is inherently more base and less artistic than fanart. I’ve seen some pretty aesthetically displeasing fanart get a high reblog count. And I’ve seen some incredible works of literary attention get no recs, no likes, no comments. I’ve seen works of middling writers who have a lot of fucking talent and show it in their work, and yeah maybe they write porn, but their prose SINGS, and no one comments, no one shares it, no one makes their love of it public the same way they do the fanart, the same way they do the edits and the gifsets.

It’s rooted in two things:

1. Literature (which fanfiction is a subgenre of) takes time to appreciate. You can look at a piece of art and reblog it without thinking about it. It could be a work on par with the Mona Lisa, and you could still look at it without any aesthetic or artistic sense and say, “Hey, that looks pretty.” But you can’t read without thinking; reading is an active mental pursuit you have to engage with. (If you try to pull out Twilight on this point to fight me, I’ll fight you back. I’ve actively read Twilight. Even reading awful literature takes effort; arguably it takes more effort than reading something good).

2. Literature is hard to market with words, because when you’re trying to encourage other people to read it, you have to use even more words. You have to use words to convince someone to read even more words! Some fanartists draw comics or fanart inspired by fanfiction--I love those artists and they do more for us than they could possibly know--but for the most part, you can’t use visuals to show someone why they should invest their time in reading a thing. And unlike fanart--when it’s a tribute, when it’s a showcase of the character’s or characters’ canonical attributes--fanfiction can’t be green-stamped by creators, because fanfiction is inherently built in narrative, and canon-compliant or not, that opens the legal owners of the property up to legal disputes.

So much easier, then, to focus on fanart, which distribution and publishing companies love because they see free advertising in sharing it, to complain that fanfiction is a dispirited genre of unartistic creators who just want to read the queer version of a bodice-ripper.

And then we get to the question of: why is the bodice ripper so bad? Are you willing to critique Jack Kerouac and Charles Bukowski with the same derision you have for queer writers? Are you going to hold the wish-fulfillment fantasies and introspective examinations of sexuality in relation to gender, race, class, and physical ability written by writers expressing their own experiences as inherently debauched and debased because pornographic fanfiction is popular, but not hold George R R Martin to the same standard? Are you going to criticize the prejudices and disparities and biases in publishing that prevent marginalized writers from being able to break into the industry? 

Are you ready to combat the enduring popularity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is overwhelmingly a series of heroism tales about shitty and mediocre white men?

Are you going to take aim at HBO for taking a fantasy series that, while still written by a sexist author who has a disturbing fixation on female sexuality has uplifted its female characters as heroes in their own right, and then drove it into the dirt to end on a note with the male “hero” murdering his female lover, an abuse survivor, after engaging her in an intimate kiss?

Did you take issue with the streaming blockbuster Stranger Things only confirming a character as canonically gay--after planning to have her be a straight romantic option for a major character--because the actress is the one who repeatedly badgered the showrunners about how she didn’t feel her character fit that role?

Are you invested in the fact that video games continue to be majority white, majority male, majority able-bodied, and majority inaccessible to disabled gamers?

You want to complain about fanfiction having too much porn and somehow that deligitimizes fanfiction as a genre as a whole?

Fuck off. There are hundreds, thousands even more likely, of other authors of equal skill to you or greater, who are struggling to have their works recognized in fandoms that don’t want to put the effort in to reading them, the effort into sharing and appreciating them. It’s harder to make someone care about a fanfic. You can reblog a fanart, and your followers will see the art itself right away. If you reblog fanfic, they have to make the conscious choice to engage with it. And none of that is your fault, because you can’t control how other people engage with fan content, but you can advocate, vocally, for the fair and equal respect for fanfiction and fan-written content. You can remind people, again and again, how fanfic writers do so much for so little.

But you want to come into my house and compare fanart to fanficton and claim one is inherently better? You’re the Banksy to my Catherynne L Valente, to my N.K. Jemisin, to my Seanan McGuire.

Start understanding the system is built against us all and start understanding why your battle is uphill. What’s oppressing your creative success is a white, straight, cis monopoly on what the good story, what the correct story is, limiting your options, tying you to a narrative you don’t belong to. Queerness and marginalization exist beyond what’s depicted in mainstream media, and fans expressing that through their own written content?

That’s us taking back the corporate-owned narrative for ourselves. It’s self-liberation through the written word. And yeah, some of it is porn.

It’s porn when it’s a drawing too.

[themagiciansreccenter]

Author Spotlight: @kaci3po

Every week we interview a writer from The Magicians fandom. If you would like to be interviewed or you want to nominate a writer, get in touch via our ask box.

First things first, tell us a little about yourself.

By day I'm a health insurance claims processor and by night I'm a fanfic writer who has probably been in fandom longer than most people on this website have been alive. I have terrible taste in music and share my home with two dogs and five cats.

How long have you been writing for?

I've been writing fanfiction since 2005, but I've been writing in general since before Kindergarten. I was always a writer. Fanfic just helped me figure out where I was interested in aiming my efforts.

What inspired you to start writing for The Magicians?

I read the books years ago and liked them well enough until the last one. Julia and Alice were my favorite characters so when the show was announced, I put off watching it because I was convinced they would never do either of those characters justice. I eventually caved and binged it on Netflix and I'm really glad I did. The show is an entirely different beast than the books, and to be honest the show is way more in my wheelhouse. Watching 3x05 and then not having it addressed for the rest of the season left me really frustrated but I've always believed in writing the stories you want to see in the world so I dusted off my keyboard and got to work.

Who is/are your favourite character(s) to write? What it is about them that makes them your favourite?

Quentin is my favorite POV to write from. That voice comes pretty naturally to me. And I like writing him because I can identify with a lot of his issues and choices. But Eliot is my favorite to write from an outside POV because he has a very specific voice that you can have a lot of fun with. You can put some fairly outrageous things in his mouth and have it still be in-character, because that's the sort of guy he is. Even though I think I end up writing more drama than comedy, the latter is definitely my favorite to do and Eliot is such a great source for both.

Do you have a preference for a particular season/point in time to write about?

3x05 and 4x05. I'm not someone who comes up with great plots for fics. I admire people who can do that, but that's not the sort of writing I'm good at. What I like doing is "fix-it" or "fill-in-the-blank" type stuff. I like being given a situation and then figuring out how characters I already know would react to that circumstance. 3x05 and 4x05 are perfect for me because they showed just enough to leave the door wide open for speculation.

Are you working on anything right now? Care to give us an idea about it?

I'm toying with the idea of writing Margo's reaction if/when she ever finds out the full story about the mosaic timeline and the Conversation they had when they remembered. I find it interesting that until that moment, Margo was the person who had seen Eliot at his worst and still loved him, but she has no idea (as far as we know) about this new memory that Eliot himself considers his darkest and most shameful. Their friendship is one of the most important things on the show to me, so I am very curious about how she'll react to Eliot keeping all of that a secret if/when she eventually finds out.

How long is your “to do list”?

Not very long. Like I said, I'm not the sort of writer who comes up with tons of plots she'd love to write. I just ask questions based on canon and explore the answers.

What is your favourite fic that you’ve written for The Magicians? Why?

Probably 'all these young bodies turn,' which I did not realize was a title someone else had already used for a Queliot fic when I posted it so great minds, I guess. I liked writing that one because it let me explore the trope of quests demanding sacrifices and the fact that Quentin was very aware of that fact. I like the way the show twists and turns tropes on their heads and I liked getting to do that too, in my own small way.

Many writers have a fic that they are passionate about that doesn’t get the reception from the fandom that they hoped for. Do you have a fic you would like more people to read and appreciate?

Not really. Everyone's been super nice and supportive of my work in this fandom, probably more so than my writing actually warrants. I'm that person who (a lot like Quentin, actually) is sort of always surprised people like my work and want me around. Blindsided by it, to be honest.

What is your writing process like? Do you have any traditions or superstitions that you like to stick to when you’re writing?

I honestly don't have a process or rituals. I've never been the kind of person who likes writing from outlines or notes. I just sit at the keyboard and keep asking myself, "Okay...and what comes next?" I'm just as surprised by what comes out of my brain as the next person.

Do you write while the seasons are airing or do you prefer to wait for hiatus? How does the ongoing development of the canon influence and inspire your writing process?

I like to write while the episodes are airing, if possible. If I wait, I lose the inspiration and frantic drive to fix and fill in blanks. Once the entire season is out, it feels to me like it's been chiseled in stone and that's not as much fun for me to play with. Writing while the episodes are airing allows for interesting moments where your predictions turn out to be completely wrong but the canon spins you off in a new direction you never would've thought of.

What has been the most challenging fic for you to write?

"5 Times Quentin and Eliot Had to Have Uncomfortable but Necessary Conversations and 1 Time They Didn't Need to Talk at All." I honestly don't know why but writing that fic was like pulling teeth. I rewrote huge portions of it constantly and I'm still not fully satisfied with it.

Are there any themes or tropes that you like particularly like to explore in your writing?

I don't know that I've really gotten to explore this yet in The Magicians fandom, although after 4x05 I think I might, but my all-time favorite trope is the character who swears up and down they don't want to be in love and can't help falling anyway. Most of my all-time favorite couples fit into this trope and now with the reveal that Eliot rejected Quentin's interest in him, I can't wait to see them actually together once he gets his body back and decides to be brave.

Are there any writers that inspire your work? Fanfiction or otherwise?

Seanan McGuire is my biggest writing inspiration. If I could write half as well as she does, I'd be happy.

What are you currently reading? Fanfiction or otherwise?

The "Home For Wayward Children" series by Seanan McGuire is my latest obsession and I'm also listening to the audio book of "Anger is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro. Fanfiction-wise, I'm just devouring every post-4x05 fic AO3 has to offer.

What is the most valuable piece of writing advice you’ve ever been given?

This is a tough call because I've had some great mentors over the years, but the most helpful thing I've ever been told is to read everything I write out loud. It probably looks silly when I do it, but I do full-on dramatic readings complete with different voices and actually acting the parts of everything I write. I don't post it until I've done a complete read through with no complaints. Not only does this help you catch any grammar or spelling mistakes, but the biggest thing it does is help you make your dialogue more natural. I'm trained in scriptwriting, not prose, and in that genre all you really have to tell your story with is dialogue, so it's important to me that mine sounds like people really talk. I don't post something until I can read it out loud and think, "Yeah, that's how those characters actually speak."

Are there any words or phrases you worry about over using in your work?

I use ellipses way more than anyone probably should and I'm overly fond of pulling up sentences short with punctuation that's not grammatically correct but makes you read it in the exact cadence I want you to.

What was the first fanfic that you wrote? Do you still have access to it?

I don't remember what my first actually was about, but it was in the Friends fandom and probably Monica/Chandler. I don't have access to it anymore, and I tried googling around to see if it was still out there on the internet somewhere, but it doesn't seem to be. That's probably for the best because I'm sure it was absolutely awful.

Self-edit or Beta?

Self-edit. In a perfect world, I'd have stuff beta'd but it's been years since I had someone I trusted to do that. These days I just go over it with a fine-toothed comb and hope for the best.

Comments or Kudos/Reblogs or Likes?

Comments always make me happy and I obsessively read the tags on reblogs, but it doesn't bother me if someone doesn't take the time to do that. People have busy lives and sometimes you can really like something without having more to say about it other than, "This was good." So a like or kudos is fine by me.

Smut, Fluff or Angst?

Smut, then fluff. I don't really like writing angst. Fandom is my escape from the real world so I'd rather focus on happy stuff if I can.

Quick & Dirty or Slow Burn?

Quick and dirty as a writer, slow burn as a reader. I like to "get in quick, hit hard, and get out" as a writer. The fewer words I can convey something in, the better. But given the choice as a reader, I'll take a 100k+ slow burn any day. It's always so satisfying when you get to the end.

Favourite season?

Season Three

Favourite Episode?

4x05 and 3x05 are the obligatory answers, but I also absolutely loved the bank heist episode.

Favourite book?

The Magicians

Three favourite words?

Fuck, callipygian, & widdershins.

Want to be interviewed for our author spotlight? Get in touch here.

[imagines-never-die]

Meet the New Mods

Introducing Mod Evie and Mod Viena, my two new assistant writers! I think they’ve got amazing writing styles and will really help this blog turn out more content. I hope you all welcome them and enjoy their work~

Mod Evie

Yo~! I don’t really know how to start this, but as you can see, the name’s Evie and I’m a moderator for this blog. I’ve been playing Overwatch since the beginning and am deep into the lore. It’s the first FPS I’ve ever played (that counts), by the way.

My mains in competitive are D.Va and Mercy, though my favorite character lore-wise is definitely Genji. I would marry him in a heartbeat. I also ship Genji with a couple other of the male characters (mainly McCree), but other then that I’m not much of a shipper.

Other things about me? I live alone in an apartment, own a cat and stay inside most of the time. I draw and write, watch YouTube and play games (that is, Overwatch) in my pastime. I pretty much have no life, to put it simply. But that just means I’ll have all the time in the world for all of you.

Mod Viena

I'm mod Viena! My favorite ships are pretty much any with Hanzo in them (McHanzo, Reinzo, Reapzo, etc), I main Hanzo and Sombra in-game, and my favorite characters are Hanzo, McCree, Junkrat, Reaper, Zenyatta, and Mei! When I'm not reading or writing fanfic, I'm hanging out in other Discord servers or taking a nap, haha!

Mod Viena is currently on her spring break, so she won’t start work here until the 20th of March. In the meantime, Mod Evie and I will be opening the askbox shortly to begin our new collaborative effort! Also, I decided to post their request test responses under the cut so you get to see their amazing writing style ^^

Mod Evie

“Could I get some headcanons please? Junkrat, Reaper, and Sombra with how they would react/what would they do when their s/o takes a potentially lethal bullet for them and is now bleeding out everywhere? Thx!”

Answer:

Junkrat:

When he first saw that his s/o’d been shot, he wouldn’t process it very well

He would have a mix of different emotions, ranging from anger to sadness to disbelief

A very lively personality, he wouldn’t be able to stop talking, trying to figure out ways to convince both himself and his s/o that everything would be alright

He would pester the staff taking care of his s/o, not angrily, but with continuous questions of what was happening, what they could do and crazy ways that they could try to make his s/o better again

Would be in denial of the severity of the situation as he tried to make sense of things, pacing back and forth in any room he was in (it’d be his s/o’s most of the time, if possible)

Sombra:

Would shout her s/o’s name when she saw them get shot instead of her, perhaps cursing under her breath

She would grab her s/o and move them to cover, then call over a medic right away

Once they got out of the battlefield, she’d look up everything concerning her s/o’s condition and make sure the doctors were doing their job right, confirming every step of what they were doing in a firm tone

She would restlessly sit by her s/o’s bed and put on a brave face, assuring them that everything was being taken care of properly and that they would be fine

Though she’d be worried to no end (even if she wouldn’t show it to her s/o), she’d truly appreciate the loyalty of her lover

If any mistakes were to happen, she would shout at the medical staff for hours to come, half of it in angry Spanish

Reaper:

He would be shocked when his s/o took a bullet in his place

Would probably freeze in place when he saw them drop to the ground and only come back to his senses when a field medic got there

Filled with rage, he’d go after the person who had shot his s/o and give them a painful death on that battlefield

He would go to his s/o’s room as soon as the doctors let him, but would be almost completely quiet the whole time he was in there

He couldn’t comprehend why his lover would take a bullet for him, and would sit by the window or the side of the room trying to contemplate it

Would be filled with depressing thoughts of the possibility of the only happiness in his life dying from their wounds, especially since it was to protect him

He would only turn to his s/o if they showed clear signs of needing him closer

             “Scenario with Symmetra, Widowmaker, and McCree where they have a day off but they look outside and it’s raining and they’re like ‘oh well, guess we’re stuck inside’ but then they see their s/o go dashing out the front door in rain boots and an umbrella as they dance out in the puddles shouting for them to come join them. What would they do?”

Answer:

Symmetra:

It was rare for the both of them to have a day off from work, and Satya had planned out everything they would do that day. The weather report had promised a lot of sun, so they would be going to an outdoor play, then have lunch at a cafe near the theater. Later in the evening, they’d even agreed to take a walk on the beach.

Only, as soon as they woke up, early in the morning like Satya preferred it, a thick coat of clouds could be seen covering the whole sky. She and her s/o decided to brush it off though, since the weather report had clearly stated they wouldn’t have anything to worry about later that day. Of course, their beliefs were proven wrong when in an hour or so it was pouring with rain.

”Ugh, there go our plans for today…” Satya sighed as she looked out the window, sipping her coffee as she did. ”When do you think it will stop?”

It was then that Satya heard their door open and close, and a confused look showed on her face.

”[Name]?” she called into the vestibule and tried to see over to the door. She caught movement in the corner of her eye and glanced out the window.

She couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw her s/o dancing in the rain, sky blue rainboots on their feet and her expensive umbrella above their head. They were smiling widely, and when they saw Satya looking out, they gestured her to join them.

After recovering from her surprise, Satya would shake her head clearly for her s/o to see. They showed an exaggerated pouty face, though it was to be expected. Satya was far too neat and organized to voluntarily dash into the rain – though she did find the fact her s/o enjoyed it unexpectedly entertaining. A subtle smile was on her face as she watched them play in the rain, sipping her coffee in their warm kitchen.

Widowmaker:

Amélie and her s/o stood just outside their open door, on the terrace, confirming that it was indeed raining. The sniper folded her arms with a neutral look, even shrugging a little as she spoke:

”Oh well, we can always watch a movie. I’ll make us a good dinner, too.” While she was busy watching the rain, she didn’t notice her s/o had retreated inside. When she turned around, however, she saw them dash out with enthusiasm, rainboots tapping against the terrace boards. She watched them open the umbrella and go farther into the rain, her eyes wide in surprise.

”Wh-what are you doing?” she asked, her accent thicker than usual. Her s/o chuckled in response.

”What does it look like, Amélie? You know I love rain!” they exclaimed. ”You should come join me.” She knew, but she didn’t know their love went this deep. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she watched her s/o do twirls under the umbrella.

”Alright, but only if you stop spinning,” she agreed, and stepped out into the rain. Her s/o did as asked, and brought the umbrella over them both when Amélie got close enough.

The sound of the rain falling against the outer surface of the umbrella silenced everything else around them. Their warm breaths created almost invisible clouds of vapor in the cool air, and soft smiles were on their lips. They were very close to each other, the bare skin on their arms lightly touching.

It was then that Amélie decided to slowly wrap her arms around her s/o, who did the same with their free arm, the both of them effectively pulling each other into a kiss. It started out as gentle and sweet, but each time their lips touched a bit more passion was put into it. It was many seconds later that they finally pulled apart, their breaths silent. They took a moment to stare into each other’s eyes, the world even quieter now. It was like it had completely disappeared.

It was Amelié’s s/o who had made her feel again, and even to this day, they were still surprising her.

McCree:

”Well darlin’, ’t looks like we’re stayin’ inside today,” Jesse declared in his casual tone and absent-mindedly looked through his pockets. ”How ’bout you pick us a movie to watch while I smoke this cigarillo?” he added when he found the cardboard package from his back pocket.

Since it was a day off for Jesse’s s/o, they had planned on having a date in their usual restaurant and go to the movies afterward. But the way it was pouring outside, they knew it was futile to even try and go outside and still be comfortable.

”You should quit that bad habit. There are healthier alternatives,” his s/o stated with their arms crossed as Jesse made his way to the door.

”How many self-respectin’ cowboys do you see vapin’, honey?” Jesse questioned as he picked up his hat and stepped outside. His s/o didn’t bother to hide their grin.

”How many self-respecting cowboys do you see, period?” they challenged.

”Touché,” Jesse agreed as the door closed after him. His s/o shook their head and stepped into the living room, their gaze drawn to the rain. They folded their arms on the windowsill, watching the dark sky and wondering if it’d turn into a thunder storm. They remembered how they used to play in the rain as a child, how fun it used to be when they had no care in the world. That’s when they remembered they’d recently gotten a new pair of rain boots.

Jesse didn’t quite know what he was seeing when his s/o entered the front yard after him, all dressed in rain gear and jumping into the nearest puddle. He could only stare in silence as his s/o laughed, then turned around with that charming grin on their face.

”Come on, Jesse, don’t be boring! Come out here!” they insisted.

It finally registered to the cowboy, and as usual, his s/o’s grin was contagious. He stubbed out the cigarillo and threw it into the pot next to their door, then followed his lover into the rain with no hesitation.

”Didn’t know ya were a fan of this awful weather,” he spoke in surprise and wrapped an arm around his s/o’s waist. Only giggles were given to him as a response. ”As fun as you’re havin’, though, one of us is gonna catch a cold like this.”

”Ah, I see, now you’re the one giving me health advice?” his s/o replied with a smirk.

”Yeah, yeah, you got me. But let’s talk about it by the fire. What do you say, hun?”

Mod Viena

“Could I get some headcanons please? Junkrat, Reaper, and Sombra with how they would react/what would they do when their s/o takes a potentially lethal bullet for them and is now bleeding out everywhere? Thx!”

Junkrat

* He can’t believe you would do that, and for someone like him! He knows you two are together, but he hadn’t expected you to care that much! His life isn’t worth yours, you’re so stupid!

* Whoever shot you won’t live much longer. A well-placed explosive will make sure of that; he stops messing around when it comes to you.

* He’s low-key panicking, but keeping his cool.

* That was a lie. He’s visibly freaking out because he and Roadie aren’t medics, how the hell are they supposed to fix you!? What do they do!?

* He’ll probably babble in your ear to keep you conscious while he sends Roadhog off to get help.

* “Y-you’re gonna be alright, love! Yer a good sport! I won’t let ya conk out on me, ya hear? God, that was the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen, you takin’ that whallop for me, and I’ve seen my own reflection! And that red stuff’s supposed to stay in you, you know, heh…oi, d-don’t close your eyes!!”

* When help comes, he’ll threaten to blow them up if they can’t save you, and refuses to let you leave his immediate line of sight.

* When you recover, he probably won’t take you on heists with him for a while, the overprotective rat.

Reaper

* Why would you do that in the first place? You know bullets can’t kill him, he’s told you this before!

* The person that hurt you gets decimated by a round of shotgun bullets, almost excessively. Reaper wouldn’t dare let them live after such an offense.

* Reaper isn’t openly affectionate, but he can make an exception here, considering, y’know…you’re kind of bleeding to death

* Low-key panicked, very good at hiding it behind that mask of his

* He’d probably make Widowmaker or Sombra cover him while he carried you to safety

* You take priority, so he’d demand someone come help you immediately or he’d ult them

* Once you’re recovered, he gruffly tells you not to take risks for him anymore

Sombra

* This was not part of the plan!! Why did you do that!? She was just about to sabotage the shooter’s gun and take them out!!

* There’s no sense in leaving you as you are, so after she disposes of the shooter, she’d probably piggy back you as fast as she can to get someone to help.

* She’s definitely panicked - you weren’t supposed to be there! Why did you do that for her!?

* Expect to be cursed out in Spanish, both as you’re bleeding out and being patched up. She’ll really let you have it.

* When she calms down enough after you’re in recovery, expect to be cursed out in English but with less intensity.

* “Tu es mui idiota…” She’d mumble, but she recognizes a life debt when she sees it.

* She won’t tell you, but she’s thankful you tried to save her life. You’ll get a lot of kisses after this blows over.

 “Scenario with Symmetra, Widowmaker, and McCree where they have a day off but they look outside and it’s raining and they’re like ‘oh well, guess we’re stuck inside’ but then they see their s/o go dashing out the front door in rain boots and an umbrella as they dance out in the puddles shouting for them to come join them. What would they do?”

Symmetra

   “Satya, let’s go out.”

   The architech blinked confusedly at you, then glanced out the window. “In the storm?”

   “Yes,” you nodded, laughing a little. “It’s lovely outside!”

   “It is raining.”

   “I know Satya; that’s why it’s lovely! Don’t you like the rain?” You asked, rising from the couch and crossing the room. You plucked your shoes off of the shelf beside the door and began to lace them up, humming an idle tune. Satya hadn’t moved from her seat.

   “You will catch a cold,” she insisted, shaking her head. You ignored her warning and threw open the door, stepping out with a grin. “Come back inside!”

   “Come and get me,” you cried, skipping through puddles and splashing water everywhere. The rain beat down upon your skin, soaking your clothes from head to toe, and you laughed all the while. Satya wrinkled her nose, unattracted by the prospect of you tracking mud and water back inside when you were done.

   But, she noticed, you were shining. Your hair, though it was plastered to your skin, appeared to fall around your head like a river, and the water running down your arms made the flesh beneath look like glittering crystals.

   You were beautiful, Satya noted, and despite herself, she smiled.

   Minutes later, she laid towels out next to the door and tentatively stepped out into the storm. The wind blew her hair all over her face, and she was cold, but then there you were, brushing stray locks from her eyes and beaming in pride.

   “You came to get me,” you murmured. The architech brushed her thumb over your cheek.

   “Always,” she muttered, her words nearly swallowed by the storm. You heard them loud and clear, however, thanking her with a kiss.

Widowmaker

   Amelie didn’t care for the rain, but she didn’t dislike it, either. It was only irritating her today because the both of you had planned a picnic; she knew now, at least, not to trust the forecast.

   You, to her confusion, didn’t seem perplexed at all. In fact, you looked excited, turning to Amelie and grasping her hands.

   “Hey,” you said, the plea audible in your words, “maybe the picnic isn’t happening, but we can still have fun, right?”

   “Fun, how?” She asked, raising a brow. “You and I don’t always have the same idea of fun, my dear.”

   You smiled, releasing her and tugging your shoes on. Certainly you weren’t going out there, were you? Amelie watched you swing open the door, wearing nothing but a T-shirt and shorts.

   Then, you were outside, laughing and running around in the rain. The sniper watched you dance around with an incredulous expression, unsure of what to do. Were you trying to get sick? Was getting Pneumonia what you considered “fun?”

   “Amelie!” You chirped, stopping in midst of your frolicking and extending an inviting arm towards her. “Join me!”

   It was a foolish decision, she knew, and likely to get them both sick and scolded by Reaper later. Looking at your sweet face, however, smiling wide and bright, Amelie found herself stepping out into the storm and threading your fingers together.

   It wasn’t fun, not really, but it was fine as long as you kept that grin.

McCree

   “Shoot,” Jesse muttered to himself. His metal arm nudged the blinds aside so he could stare out into the heavy storm beating against the window. Sighing, he turned to deliver the news that he and you were going to have to wait it out when he noticed you weren’t in the room anymore. “Darlin’?”

   His comm beeped on the counter; it was your chime. Picking it up, he answered with a confused “hello?”

   “Babe!!” You sounded like you were in the midst of a storm, laughter leaving your lips in excited puffs of breath. “It’s raining!”

   “Yeah, I can tell,” Jesse replied, flesh hand adjusting his hat with a roll of his eyes. “Are ya’ outside?”

   “Yes! Come join me, these puddles are huge, babe!!” You cried. Jesse heard a splashing sound come through the comm, followed by your delighted squeal, and his heart soared at the sound. “C’mon, c’mon! Please!?”

   “Yer gonna catch a cold,” he argued, but it sounded weak to even his own ears. Already he was pulling his boots on and grabbing a jacket. He considered getting yours, too, but it sounded like it would be pointless by now. “My sick honeybee, slighted by mother nature.”

   “Get out here already,” you replied, the smirk evident in your voice. You both knew you’d won.

   The smile on your face when he shut off the comm and stepped out into the storm was worth it. The colds you caught afterwards were maybe a little less so.