#i know the text is a bit messy but i have this in my drafts for about a month

[queen--of--maggots]

What’s your most unpopular DN opinion? (It can be about canon, fanon the fandom)

I don’t even know if you are still around anon, but I promised you an answer, and here it is. Unpopular opinion time! And here’s a really unpopular one: I wish Wammy’s wouldn’t exist and Ohba went in a different direction after L’s death.

I’m probably almost the only one with this opinion. I know many people love the Wammy kids, and I want to make this clear, this is not necessarily about the characters from Wammy’s. I appreciate them, some more, others less. However, you can like a character and still think the story would have been better without them.

First, a few points on why I don’t like the introduction of Wammy’s.

One thing I enjoyed a lot about DN up to L’s death is the lack of overused tropes. For example, DN isn’t L’s story despite him fitting more into the good guy role, L isn’t portrayed as a hero, Light isn’t portrayed as a villain, Misa isn’t the innocent victim who was dragged into this, and neither L nor Light is the chosen one(s), main characters don’t have an extremely outstanding design, and so on. Wammy’s changes this partially. There must be people, qualified ones included, in the entire world that have reasons why they want to stop Kira, but all of Kira’s antagonists originate from the same place – Wammy’s. That’s pretty much the secret-intuition-that-protects-the-world-from-evil trope. It also falls into the chosen one trope because only L’s successors are apparently good enough to put an end to Kira. Also, Near has a rather outstanding design. Having white hair isn’t impossible, but highly unlikely. In addition, he looks like 12 despite being 18 and always wears fucking pajamas instead of normal clothes. Mello has a somewhat outstanding design too, but it’s more the way the dresses. I won’t complain too much about it. Still, compare this to Team Kira’s new additions. Mikami’s and Takada’s designs are way more grounded.

Another trope I find annoying is linking everything to the same two or three people. Every important character that is introduced later in the series has a connection to one of the original main characters (being related, childhood friends, same former mentor, …). In my opinion, that’s just a cheap way to give a new character credit without them doing anything and make them more popular among fans. If the character is well-written enough, things like that are not necessary. Ohba goes hard for this trope with Wammy’s: Near, Mello, and even fucking Matt are all L’s successors, so they have a direct link to him. And, while it’s just a spinoff, and how canon it is is debatable, even the BB murder case goes back to L and Wammy’s. (I know AN wasn’t written by Ohba, but it fits the pattern.) Compare this to Light’s allies. Most Kiras had no previous connection to Light before meeting him. The only exception is Kiyomi after the time skip. In Misa’s case, Kira gave her the revenge she wanted. However, she’s likely still one of many with similar stories. She didn’t know Light before, and Light didn’t know her. Even how Misa got her DN is unrelated to Light and Ryuk. Mikami had to stand entirely on his own feet. He had no direct connection to Light or L whatsoever.

I’m also disappointed that Ohba toned down the realism with Wammy’s. DN wasn’t 100% realistic before either, but there is a drop in it with the introduction of the Wammy’s characters. We go from one rich dude who fights crime mainly for entertainment to an entire training ground for super-intelligent orphans to become the world’s greatest detectives. Then there’s Mello with the missile and ultra-fast healing powers, and Near winning because of magical guessing powers and plot armor. Both are also younger than Light and inexperienced. And while humans aren’t born with special powers in the DN universe and supernatural aspects are limited to the Shinigami and the Shinigami realm, BB has Shinigami eyes for no apparent reason. Technically, these are still connected to the Shinigami within the story, but the explanation given for this is extremely vague and unsatisfying.

The points I’ve listed so far would bother me less if they always would have been a thing or if both sides were treated equally regarding tropes and bullshit. But they are particularly noticeable for Wammy’s characters, while Team Kira is not so much affected.

Also, I liked that before Wammy’s became a thing, L was an extraordinary element. L appeared to be self-made. He even became an important part of law enforcement even though his main motivation wasn’t justice. Before Wammy’s introduction, his death would have had a massive impact on the DN universe because once he is dead, L doesn’t exist anymore and is no longer a secret weapon in difficult cases. Even if Kira is defeated, losing L in the process would be a massive loss. Wammy’s existence reduces L to a replaceable role. If he dies, someone else from the L-factory will take the position. The death of L as a person has almost no impact on the DN universe because L as an entity still exists, and that’s the only thing that counts. No consequences whatsoever. Barely anyone knew how he looked anyway.

I understand why Ohba went with L’s successors as a continuation instead of something else. He was playing the safe card by feeding the consumers something they are already familiar with. Going for different scenarios would be risky and require more effort. However, it could have been more rewarding if executed well. I would have liked a greater variety of enemies for Light and him having to adapt to new dangers. So, here are some scenarios that I would have found more intriguing than the one we got.

The premise of Mello’s arc was interesting; unfortunately, the execution was horrendous. But Light vs a criminal organization that, for example, wants the DN or Kira’s power for themselves isn’t a bad idea. A criminal organization would be a lot more ruthless than L. L needed evidence, while a crime syndicate would immediately shoot Light if he showed up on the list of suspects. And his family would be in danger too.

Or a revenge plot? Something like Kira killed a family member or other loved one (preferably justified, but could also be someone wrongly accused), and a bereaved person wants revenge. Now, this person is on a suicide mission, and Light has to fight against someone who has nothing left to lose. Their own survival is optional, only getting revenge before dying counts.

How about Kira vs a fanatic Kira fan? Someone who thinks Kira isn’t Kira enough anymore and feels they can do better? Maybe this person could make Light’s allies question their loyalty to him. Who are they loyal to, Light or Kira?

A female antagonist would also have potential (but not with Ohba as an author). Light tends to underestimate women. Now, Light faces one as a competent opponent, and he has to take one or more critical hits to realize the danger.

Anyway, the successor arc definitely has its moments, but overall, it is a lot weaker. And in my opinion, these weaknesses are primarily connected to Wammy’s. So, removing it could have been beneficial for the story. At least, that’s my opinion. If you have a different opinion, that’s great. But please, I’m not particularly interested in lengthy discussions about this subject.

[burntoutdaydreamer]

Weird Brain Hacks That Help Me Write

I'm a consistently inconsistent writer/aspiring novelist, member of the burnt-out-gifted-kid-to-adult-ADHD-diagnosis-pipeline, recently unemployed overachiever, and person who's sick of hearing the conventional neurotypical advice to dealing with writer's block (i.e. "write every single day," or "there's no such thing as writer's block- if you're struggling to write, just write" Like F*CK THAT. Thank you, Brenda, why don't you go and tell someone with diabetes to just start producing more insulin?)

I've yet to get to a point in my life where I'm able to consistently write at the pace I want to, but I've come a long way from where I was a few years ago. In the past five years I've written two drafts of a 130,000 word fantasy novel (currently working on the third) and I'm about 50,000 words in on the sequel. I've hit a bit of a snag recently, but now that I've suddenly got a lot of time on my hands, I'm hoping to revamp things and return to the basics that have gotten me to this point and I thought I might share.

1) My first draft stays between me and God

I find that I and a lot of other writers unfortunately have gotten it into our heads that first drafts are supposed to resemble the finished product and that revisions are only for fixing minor mistakes. Therefore, if our first draft sucks that must mean we suck as writers and having to rewrite things from scratch means that means our first draft is a failure.

I'm here to say that is one of the most detrimental mentalities you can have as a writer.

Ever try drawing a circle? You know how when you try to free-hand draw a perfect circle in one go, it never turns out right? Whereas if you scribble, say, ten circles on top of one another really quickly and then erase the messy lines until it looks like you drew a circle with a singular line, it ends up looking pretty decent?

Yeah. That's what the drafting process is.

Your first draft is supposed to suck. I don't care who you are, but you're never going to write a perfect first draft, especially if you're inexperienced. The purpose of the first draft is to lay down a semi-workable foundation. A really loose, messy sketch if you will. Get it all down on paper, even if it turns out to be the most cliche, cringe-inducing writing you've ever done. You can work out those kinks in the later drafts. The hardest part of the first draft is the most crucial part: getting started. Don't stress yourself out and make it even harder than it already is.

If that means making a promise to yourself that no one other than you will ever read your first draft unless it's over your cold, dead body, so be it.

2) Tell perfectionism to screw off by writing with a pen

I used to exclusively write with pencil until I realized I was spending more time erasing instead of writing.

Writing with a pen keeps me from editing while I right. Like, sometimes I'll have to cross something out or make notes in the margins, but unlike erasing and rewriting, this leaves the page looking like a disaster zone and that's a good thing.

If my writing looks like a complete mess on paper, that helps me move past the perfectionist paralysis and just focus on getting words down on the page. Somehow seeing a page full of chicken scratch makes me less worried about making my writing all perfect and pretty- and that helps me get on with my main goal of fleshing out ideas and getting words on a page.

3) It's okay to leave things blank when you can't think of the right word

My writing, especially my first draft, is often filled with ___ and .... and (insert name here) and red text that reads like stage directions because I can't think of what is supposed to go there or the correct way to write it.

I found it helps to treat my writing like I do multiple choice tests. Can't think of the right answer? Just skip it. Circle it, come back to it later, but don't let one tricky question stall you to the point where you run out of brain power or run out of time to answer the other questions.

If I'm on a role, I'm not gonna waste it by trying to remember that exact word that I need or figure out the right transition into the next scene or paragraph. I'm just going to leave it blank, mark to myself that I'll need to fix the problem later, and move on.

Trust me. This helps me sooooo much with staying on a roll.

4) Write Out of Order

This may not be for everyone, but it works wonders for me.

Sure, the story your writing may need to progress chronologically, but does that mean you need to write it chronologically? No. It just needs to be written.

I generally don't do this as much for editing, but for writing, so long as you're making progress, it doesn't matter if it's in the right order. Can't think of how to structure Chapter 2, but you have a pretty good idea of how your story's going to end? Write the ending then. You'll have to go back and write Chapter 2 eventually, but if you're feeling more motivated to write a completely different part of the book, who's to say you can't do that?

When I'm working on a project, I start off with a single document that I title "Scrap for (Project Title)" and then just write whatever comes to mind, in whatever order. Once I've gotten enough to work with, then I start outlining my plot and predicting how many chapters I'm going to need. Then, I create separate google docs for each individual chapter and work on them in whatever order I feel like, often leaving several partially complete as I jump from one to the other. Then, as each one gets finished, I copy and paste the chapter into the full manuscript document. This means that the official "draft" could have Chapters 1 and 9, but completely be missing Chapters 2-8, and that's fine. It's not like anyone will ever know once I finish it.

Sorry for the absurdly long post. Hopes this helps someone. Maybe I'll share more tricks in the future.

[uluvjay]

Unexpected- W. Smith

Will Smith x Hughes! Sister

In which your brothers were not expecting to find a boy in your bed when they came to visit

Warnings?; cursing, anxiety, judgmental brothers, fluff, sorry for any errors!

“Dude just use your key.” Quinn grumbled to Jack as he continued to knock on your apartment door.

“I don’t want to invade her privacy.” Jack huffed.

“She came into our apartment to surprise us that one time.” Luke shrugged reminding his brother of the time they came home to find you on their couch.

“What if she’s like-i don’t know..not decent?” Jack cringed.

“Oh my god-move, I’ll just use mine.” Quinn huffed as he pushed his younger brother out of the way.

The boys had been texting you nonstop attempting to get an answer from you especially after their consistent knocking hadn’t worked and Quinn was tired of waiting.

Jack and Luke played the bruins in two days and having a short gap in his schedule Quinn decided to join his brothers on a surprise visit to their baby sister before he had to return to a hectic season.

Pushing open the sleek door of your apartment they were met with your natural vanilla scent, by the door was your messy shoe rack, umbrellas, coats, your keys on a hook, and hockey sticks-wait, why the hell would you have that many hockey sticks?

“Why does she hav-ow what the?” Luke began but was cut off as his foot came into contact with a hefty hockey bag and he went stumbling forward.

“Umm..why the hell is there usa hockey bag in her entryway?” Jack questioned, looking between his brothers with a raised eyebrow.

“The fuck are you asking us for?” Quinn spoke quietly.

“Why are you whispering?”

“Because you dumbass her keys are here, which means she’s probably sleeping still.” Quinn replied.

The boys looked around your apartment a bit more, keeping quiet as they walked through the living room area and kitchen.

Jack and Quinn knew the layout well as this was their graduation gift towards you, they felt unsafe with you living on campus and despite your protests when you opened the box revealing keys, you had been living here since the fall.

“Uh guys..there’s a gold medal on her living room table.” Luke choked.

“What?” Jack asked as he rushed in from the kitchen.

Meeting his brothers in the living room his eyes met the good medal that was in fact sitting pretty in the middle of your coffee table.

“Usa bag, sticks, and a gold medal? Shes dating one of the Bc guys that just won at world juniors. She has to be.” Luke laughed looking up at his older brothers.

Jack was the first to take off down the hall and towards your cracked bedroom door, both defensemen following closely behind him.

Quietly pushing your door open they found you asleep on your back, a Boston college hockey shirt on, thank god Jack thought.

And on your chest was a head of blonde curls, one of your hands resting on the boys shoulder peacefully while one of his arms was thrown around your waist.

Retreating to your living room the three men huddled together.

“He looks familiar.” Jack spoke up.

“His name is will something, he just got drafted.” Luke confirmed remembering his face from the draft.

“It’s Will smith. He went fourth overall to the sharks.” Quinn spoke showing his brothers the boy’s Instagram page.

“What do we do now?” Luke questioned, not sure where they should go from here.

“We wait.” Jack smirked and moved to make himself comfortable on your large sectional.

-

A little over an hour later they heard soft voices coming from your room, quite good mornings and the sound of lips connecting.

“Breakfast?” They heard you question and will confirm with a soft yeah.

Making your way out of your bedroom and down the hall you felt your heart drop into your stomach and a scream escape at the sight of three large figures sat on your couch.

“What the hell are you doing here!?” You shrieked once you realized it was your brothers.

“Came to see you, why? Is there something your hiding from us?” Jack smirked as his eyes dropped from you to gold medal on your table and back to you.

You followed his eyesight and worry filled you as you remembered that your boyfriend, who was fresh out of Sweden had all of his things here, the boyfriend your brothers also have no idea about.

“Shit. J-just give me a second.” You groaned as you turned around and pushed a curious Will back into your room before shutting the door.

“Everything okay?” He questioned as the noticeable worry etched on your face.

“My brothers are here.” You spoke quietly.

“Your brothers? As in all three?” Will asked.

“Yep.” You spoke popping the ‘p’ before continuing.

“Came to surprise me, turns out they were a bit more surprised when they found all of your usa stuff.” You laughed.

“Wh-what uh, what are we going to do?” He coughed.

It’s not that Will was necessarily scared of your brothers, he’d already met your parents and talked to your dad regularly about hockey. But brothers are different, especially your brothers. You four have a bond he’s never seen before and the protectiveness they have over you is strong.

“You’re going to have to come out and meet them.” You shrugged.

“Right now?”

“No tomorrow at four. Yes right now will! They’re literally sitting in my living room waiting.” You spoke.

“Okay.” He breathed.

“Okay?”

“Yeah, let’s do this” he nodded confidently.

“I love you and you know I wont let them kill your right?” You laughed as you took his cheeks into your hands.

“I know, I love you too.” He smiled and you placed a light kiss on his lips before turning around and leading him into your living room.

To say the sight In front of him wasn’t intimidating wouldn’t be a lie, despite being around the same height as all three men their broody stance snd interrogating stares had will feeling a bit nervous.

The three nhl stars were dressed in all black, hoodies, joggers, and beanies as they stood around the living room table looking Will up and down.

“Boys this is my boyfriend Will, Will these are my brothers, Jack, Quinn, and Lukey.” You smiled.

Despite the circumstances you were happy to have your brothers here and it felt good to be back in their presence.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Will smiled as he reached a hand out.

All three looked at his hand but Quinn was the first to move in and shake it, locking wills hand in a tight grip.

The other two followed after Quinn, their grips just as if not tighter around Wills hand. You could see the gears turning in Luke’s head and that soon questions would be flying out left and right, and before you started to answer them you needed food.

“Why don’t we talk over breakfast? There’s an amazing place down the street.” You suggested and thankfully everyone agreed to a nice meal.

-

Forty-five minutes later you were all gathered at a table at the small restaurant down the road, coffees in your brothers hands while you and Will both chose a nice glass of Oj.

“So” Quinn coughed, “how’d you two meet?”

“Izzy is dating his friend Ryan, they introduced us and we hit it off pretty well so we exchanged numbers and went on a few dates. The rest was history after that.” You smiled.

Izzy was your best friend from back home, the boys knew her so well she was practically another sister to them and she was a big contributor to your decision to come to Boston college instead of Umich.

“Hmm, where’d you take her for the first date?” Luke spoke up.

“Mini golf, got my ass kicked though. Didn’t realize someone could be so good at it.” Will laughed at the memory.

“Y/n is an amazing golfer, she does it quite a bit over the summers.” Jack nodded.

“Best in the family i’d say.” You smirked.

“Okay don’t get ahead of yourself now.” Luke scoffed.

“So you’re a sharks prospect right?” Jack asked.

“Uh yeah, they drafted me this past spring.” Will smiled.

The questions kept up until the food came, but they began to get more relaxed and generic after a while. The boys began to asked will more about school and how it was a world juniors and soon they were all sharing laughs.

“You know, that wasn’t really the way I wanted to find out my baby sister had a boyfriend but you’re a cool kid Will.” Quinn smiled.

“Thank you, she’s amazing. Out my league really.” Will blushed as you elbowed him in his side.

“That’s true, but as long as you treat her right and make her happy then we like you.” Jack spoke softly.

“But don’t think we won’t flatten your ass out on the ice if you ever hurt her.” Luke smirked.

Will nodded with a winded expression and and awkward silence crowded the table before the ringing of Quinn’s phone broke through.

“Oh, it’s mom.” He smirked right at Will and it took everything in you to hold down your laugh.

“Hey mom!” He greeted her warmly.

“Hi sweetie, just checking if you got into your sisters.” She spoke.

“Oh yeah we got in, found quite the surprise to.” Jack laughed.

“Oh really? What happened.”

Quinn turned the screen around to show your mother Will and while they were all expecting her to freak out their expressions dropped the second they heard her voice.

“Will! How are you doing honey?” She asked excitedly.

“I’m good Mrs. Hughes, how about you.” Your boyfriend smiled.

“Oh I told you to knock that Mrs. Hughes off! I’m good though honey thank you for asking.” She smiled.

“Let me find Jim really fast, he’ll want to say hi.” Your mother spoke up.

You released a giggle at the shock and confusion that was written on your brother’s faces. Their eyebrows were all pulled together as they shared a look of confusion.

“Will! How are you buddy.” Your father greeted.

“I’m good Jim, how about you?”

“I’m good son, my boys haven’t given you and my girl any trouble have they?”Your father questioned.

“No, it’s been okay.” Will laughed.

The conversation kept up for a moment but your mother ultimately decided to hang up when Jack kept whining about her not telling them you had a boyfriend.

“I can’t believe they knew!” He groaned.

“I told them first, wanted to make sure they liked him.” You shrugged.

“This is unbelievable.” He pouted and that’s how the rest of your day continued until your mom apologized and offered to bake him his favorite homemade goods the next time she visited.

-



[julianalvarez9]

one nail drives out another / joão félix

summary: it had all started as a mutual favour: you weren't over your ex, and neither was he. but the old saying one nail drives out another proves to be true. author's note: had this in the drafts for too long and just needed to get it out, even if i just couldn't finish it in a way that i liked :( hope it's still good tho.

warnings: smut with a plot. wc: 2.2k words

the deal was simple: he calls you when he feels alone, and you do too.

in reality, it's simpler to say that you call him to avoid calling your ex. this is what you said to yourself every time: it was for a good cause, really. anything to help you avoid the man who broke your heart several times. 

joão was one hundred percent better than that man could ever be, and you knew it was safer: at least, he wouldn’t break your heart. above every single adjective he could be described with, he was kind. and after knowing him for such a long time, you also were aware of how hard it was for him to let his past relationship go, no matter if he knew it wasn’t good for him, no matter how much she actually hurt him. he was in the same situation as you: heartbroken and on the verge of falling, again.

the kiss was heated, tongues meeting and battling each other for dominance, while letting you taste him. you still could feel the vodka on his lips, intoxicating, although you doubted if what was making your brain go into overdrive was the alcohol, or joao’s ragged breath. “i need to stop thinking about her for a second,” he pleaded, warm brown eyes normally turning a shade darker. he continued the trail of kisses, messy and wet over your neck. “please, help me”.

tonight, it was your turn to call joão.

you were about to call your ex, again, for the second time after six months, until you thought otherwise. it wasn't rocket science to understand that you were feeling alone. the flat in which you lived in now was the same one you once shared with your ex boyfriend, and sometimes, no matter how many hours you try to spend out of the four walls, you can't forget what happened. how it all went wrong, so suddenly. the doubts start to creep in when the sun sets, and you start doubting whether it maybe was your fault, after all. surely, nothing you could have ever done could excuse his cheating, but why weren't you enough?

[12:11] you said: are you awake?

[12:11] joão said: yeah

[12:11] joão said: i was just about to text you

[12:12] you said: mind if i come to your house?

[12:12] joão said: it would be my pleasure

it's been a few weeks since you've seen him, with the international break getting him away from you and his schedule just being crazy in general. and even though you were thankful for it, as a way of getting your feelings on check, you also found yourself missing him. which made everything worse. after almost four months, he knew you like the back of his hand. knew how to rile you, how to touch you, what you liked. you craved him in a way no other guy would fulfill. 

you had tried it.

you barely make it through the door before joao's planting his lips on yours fiercely. it's been too long, he thinks, while sinking his fingers hard onto your hips and backing you onto the main door, hard.

"you don't know how much i missed this," he says, and the warmth starts to seep into your bones, not only where you would expect it to when a pretty boy like him has his hands on you. the effect he has on you it's incredible, and you can only moan in response, legs almost giving up when he sinks a bit to grab the back of your thighs, signaling you to jump. you've got your legs clamped around his waist while he gets both of you into his bedroom.

he lays you onto the bed carefully, with him on top of you while the heavy makeout session continues. his hands roam your entire figure like he has forgotten the trace and wants to remember it. as if he could ever forget, he thinks to himself, before focusing right back into your taste. "do something, joão," you beg, your hands going to the top of his head and slightly tugging on his hair when he starts to trail down his kisses, wet lips tasting all the exposed skin he has available, before growing impatient and pulling the end of your shirt softly. although he's desperate to taste you, he remains calm, helping you take the clothes off before he proceeds to do the same.

he cups your heat through your underwear, and your hips bucked instinctively against his hand. he smirks, the little devil, when he feels how wet you are for him, even though your core remains clothed. you know it's been too long, and you're chasing this fix like he was the most addictive drug. "you're so wet, princesa, so needy. is this all for me?".

he wants to edge you, he wants to make you beg for him, but who's he kidding? joao's almost as desperate as you, not even being able to take off your undergarments fully, and instead, moving it to the side. he slides two fingers inside of you at once, your slick coating his fingers instantly as he feels you clenching around his digits. soon enough you're almost there and he notices, instead taking your fingers off your entrance and savoring your taste in his mouth, humming contently. he wants to feel you tightening around his length instead of his hand, and he hurries to extend the condom over his hard on.

your lips part when you feel his tip at your entrance, right where you need him most, and your fingers grab onto whatever skin he has close to you to remain grounded. his biceps are the ones suffering the attack of your nails on them, pleading him silently to, finally, make his way into you. he's slow at first, with you so tight after a few weeks apart from each other, and his eyes flutter shut, trying to maintain his composure until he bottoms out. you can't even think straight at this point, small whimpers leaving your mouth pleading him to move. joao finds the rhythm that has you moaning his name nonstop soon enough, like he always does, and you grab him by the nape of his neck to get him to kiss you and swallow your desperate noises.

“i won’t last long,” you warn, voice barely audible while your back arches away from the bed, creating a gap from the mattress. “go ahead,” joao encourages, keeping the pace that is driving you mad, and soon enough, you come undone under him. he helps you ride out your high, and thanks to how you’re clenching around him, he lets go too, not long after you. 

the air is tense once the moment has seemingly broken, both your staggered breaths, the only sounds heard through the four walls. joao knows he has to say something about the elephant in the room, but still, he doesn’t know how. you’re the first one to move, not sparing him a glance as you start to collect your things to leave, wanting to avoid the question repeating in your head. what the fuck are we?

"why do you never stay over?" he asks instead, resting his back over the bed frame. his hands pillowed under his head in a relaxed gesture, but he’s anything but calm while the question floats in the air. 

"what?" you call, not having heard his ask: you were too busy trying to find your underwear to pay attention to what the portuguese was saying. still, he continued. "it's like you run away from me every time,” he says, frowning at the thought. 

once he realizes that he won't be having an answer until you find what you're looking for, he focuses on your surroundings, scanning the poorly lit room until he finds your undergarments. they're dropped by his side of the bed, serving as a reminder of what had occurred between you two not too long ago. 

joão hooks the piece of lace cloth on his fingers, catching your attention, before you go and take them from him, slipping them on almost effortlessly. “is there a problem with me?".

now, with you not completely naked, you can answer him, although still refusing to dive into his warm brown eyes. "absolutely not”.

“and here you are, running away,” he laughs bitterly while getting up from the bed to grab his shirt. god bless, you think. the mere sight of him, laying on his bed, in just his black calvins was almost enough to get you back on the bed. but you can’t, you remind yourself. 

“i thought it was what you wanted, no?” you counteract. it’s like joao doesn't remember the talk you had before it all began. “part of the no feelings attached thing you talked about," you remind him, and he huffs annoyed, before going back to being seated on the edge of the bed, back towards you. 

you can see the marks your fingernails made on his tanned skin, still red from your doings. you’re tempted to bring it to his attention, maybe to avoid his teammates catching them tomorrow morning when he has to go back to training, but the words die on your throat.

he mutters lowly, gripping his hair like he’s about to pull some strands off. "you don't think we fucked it up already?”.

"what are you talking about?".

of course you know what he’s talking about. the deal made it clear that it was just sex: but you were friends first and foremost, and you couldn’t avoid your friend group, which you shared with him. you couldn’t avoid the questions they asked. who has you smiling so big lately, y/n? are you seeing anyone? no, of course not. i can present to you a friend, then. 

the mere thought of you with someone else made joao see red, and that's how he noticed something had changed, and that he had to do something about it before what he feared became a reality. he initially had said he had enough of relationships, and just didn't want the complications it brought. and after what he went through, it was safe to say his trust issues were at their worst. just like yours. that's why it was such a good deal at first: to get the benefits of a relationship without the problems of actually keeping one. 

“i missed you while i was away,” he begins, and your stomach turns when you hear what he has to say next. “you don’t see a problem?”. you want to say that you missed him too, but the question leaves you feeling uneasy. of course it’s a problem for him, you think. he has grown attached, like you have, but doesn’t want any of it.

“good thing that i’m leaving then, no?”.

joao's quick to stand on his feet and go over to where you are, almost turning the knob and exiting his bedroom. “stay. please," he begs, hand softly grazing your wrist to avoid you getting away from him. at this point, you're confused and hurt enough to start regretting even getting here in the first place. “you’re not making sense right now, you know, right? saying that this is a problem and then asking me to stay the night”.

 through your years being friends, you realized that joao wasn’t the best one at explaining his emotions with words. maybe, because the words weren’t truly his -having to find the words, in a language that wasn’t your own, sure made things more difficult than they needed to be-. "you and i not being together is the problem", he gets to say, almost like a last resource to get you looking at him again. "what about what you said before? that you're not ready for another relationship?".

it work in his favour, because the sentence previously muttered by joao as you turn to face him again. you’re looking into his eyes now, trying to find even an ounce of doubt that would make you leave again. you didn’t want to force him into being with you: you knew the risks when you accepted this fucking deal. you didn’t want him to feel trapped into a relationship he had never intended to start.

"i guess i'm ready when it's you,” joao smiles, softly caressing the skin of your cheek with his thumb. you feel yourself melt under him, his sweet touch and his thoughtful words. “i know you're not her. and i'm not him. but i get it if you-".

the kiss is needy, again, like it had been when you first arrived, but this time you are the one to initiate it. your hand found its way into his hair, and you pulled him impossible closer, hoping that this would clear up all his doubts without you having to say anything. of course you knew he wasn’t him. you had never dared to make the comparison, not even for a second. once the kiss is over, you rest your forehead against his, before softly whispering onto his lips. “we can take it slow. i just need you, nothing else”.

“whatever you need, princesa”.

[jostystyles]

i can still see it all | qh

a/n: this is my entry for @wyattjohnston summer fic exchange! @wildrangers this is for you love! i hope you love it <3 im so sorry it took me forever, i had covid and other life happenings that set me back. i picked daylight from the list of songs you gave me, and this was born. enjoy love 🩵

They say when you love someone, you’ll know. There will be a moment of realization, a sort of ‘ah’ moment. Quinn has never really had that. Sure, he’s dated girls and thrown out the L word a few times, but he wasn’t really sure he meant it. Obviously, he loves his mom, dad, and brothers. Love, to him, was all black and white. It was all good or all bad. But sometimes, when you’ve been asleep so long in a 20 year dark night, the scream of color can come along and change your life for the better. (Y/N) came into his life in the most obscure way possible. He met her at the bar 5 minutes after he was dumped by his ex. After she laughed in his face and told him she was, she bought him a drink. After that, he doesn’t know when or even how it happened. Suddenly she was in his life everyday, and his friends became hers. Jack and Luke took to her instantly, and his mom liked having another girl to talk to. The one thing he did know was that he fell in love with her. He was starting to understand that love wasn’t quite black and white, but it could be golden. She was his muse, the one thing that kept him going when he felt like stopping. Even if she didn’t know it.

Quinn was always working. It was no surprise, being an NHL star. Between games, practice, charity events, and just existing. It was exhausting sometimes. He loved it, and wouldn’t change it for the world, but sometimes he just needed a break. When summer first hit and he was still in Vancouver, sometimes he wouldn’t leave his apartment for days. He had to take a break, just to recharge his social battery. (Y/N) knew this. Which is why she came over to make sure he made an effort to eat and have some sort of human interaction.

Unlocking the door with bags in hand, (Y/N) stumbled into his apartment. Brock was away on vacation, so Quinn graciously offered to watch Milo and Coolie for a few days. She heard little footsteps running towards her and looked down to see a dog wagging its tail and smiling up at her. “Oh Milo,” She sighed. “What are we going to do with him?” She finished, glancing around the apartment. It was messy, she wouldn't lie. Quinn was a messy person even if he didn't seem like it. Figuring he was napping as he didn’t answer her texts, she began to clean up his kitchen a bit. As she scrubbed the counters of the residue from last night’s dinner, she glanced at the wall of photos diagonal to her point of view. The first one that caught her eye was a family photo from Quinn’s draft day, his crooked smile reflected on the faces of his family members as they surrounded him in his newly adorned Canucks jersey. To the right of that one, was one she took of him, Brock, and Petey at a family skate event a few years back. The last one to catch her eye was her favorite. It was of her and Quinn, taken last summer at the lake in Michigan. She was on his back, both their faces flushed with sun and noses scrunched up in laughter. To an outsider, they could easily be mistaken for a couple.

As she finished cleaning up, (Y/N) began to walk down the hallway, dog in tow and a bag of takeout in her hands. “Knock knock, I’m coming in whether you like it or not.” She exclaimed in a sing-song tone once she reached his room. She couldn’t see it, but Quinn smiled. He loved the sound of her voice.

“I knew you’d show up sooner or later.” He answered, standing up from his bed and grabbing a shirt from the floor.

“Well, I have to make sure you keep yourself alive, don’t I?” (Y/N) giggled. She looked as beautiful as she always did, her sweater falling off her shoulders and her ripped jean shorts hugging her curves in just the right way. Two long french braids fell just past her shoulders. Her tan sandals scraped gently across the floor. She didn't like to wear heels. “They make me feel like a skyscraper Quinn, I’m too damn tall for them.” She always says. Quinn didn't realize he was staring until she finally said something.

“Earth to Quinton. Hello?” She called to him, waving her hands in front of his face. “I’m sorry what, I keep getting lost in you.” Did I just say that out loud? Shit. He thought to himself.

“What?” (Y/N) replied, blushing.

“Nothing. Just forget I said anything.” Quinn said, rushing out of the room into the kitchen.

“Wait! Don’t lie to me Quinn, what did you mean when you said that?” she said, following him.

She wasn’t sure of what she heard when he said it. It gave her a sense of false hope when he said it. Sometimes she wanted to scream out how much she loved him, but was afraid he didn’t feel the way she did. This was one of those times where she thought it to be true that maybe, just maybe, he loved her back. If she was honest, she loved him from the moment she met him. He was an idiot, but a lovable one. She never understood how anyone could stand to break his heart, even on the night they first met. Love, to her, was something that she once believed to be burning red. It ignites a fire in your heart, body, and soul, and burns for that one person. When she met Quinn, she wanted him to be that person more than anything. As they grew closer, she realized he was. But the love she held for him wasn’t the one she always dreamed of. It was different. It shone a bright golden hue, and encapsulated everything about him. (Y/N) was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of Quinn’s voice.

“Can we please just forget that I said anything, (Y/N), please?” Quinn said, turning around to look at her. He began to walk away when she grabbed his hand and pulled him towards her. Looking up at him, she said softly, “I see the way you look at me when you think I’m not looking. You look at me like I’m the only other person on this earth. Don’t you realize that I look at you the same way too?” Quinn was processing what she just said to him, his heart beating a mile a minute. He glanced at their hands intertwined at the side. Neither of them let go. Finally he gained the courage to say something back.

Looking into her eyes, he confessed to her. “I think I’m in love with you and that scares me half to death. No, scratch that, I know I’m in love with you. I’ve been in love with you ever since the day I met you. I don’t want to look at anything else now that I saw you.” She didn’t say anything back. She wrapped her free hand around his neck and pulled his face down to her height and kissed him. It was exactly the way they both pictured it would be like. They kissed lasted for what seemed like an eternity, until they finally broke apart.

Their heads were pressed against each other, just looking into each other's eyes. (Y/N) was the first one to speak. “I’m yours.” That was all she needed to say for Quinn to know that she loved him too. And while he was sure of it, there was a part of him that hesitated.

“Are you sure about this? Like, are you sure about me?” He wondered aloud.

(Y/N) stared at him, confused. “I just confessed my love for you in the cheesiest and most embarrassing way possible and you’re asking me if I’m sure? Quinn, I know you’re not that dumb.”

Quinn laughed. “No, it’s just like, I know you love me. And I love you too, but like, I don’t want to fuck this up. I’m not really good at this kind of stuff” he confessed, not making eye contact with her out of embarrassment.

(Y/N) put her finger under his chin and pushed it up. “Hey, look at me. It’s me you’re talking to. You don’t have to try with me. Just being the way you are is enough. Love is weird. But the best part is when you get to love your best friend. And that’s us. You’ve just got to step into the daylight, you know? Let it all go. We can figure the rest out on our own. Just let it go.”

Quinn kissed her again. As he was getting older, he wanted to be defined by the things he loved. And he loved (Y/N). She’s his daylight, afterall.

tagging: @2manytabsopen @lam-ila @laurenairay @comphy-and-cozy @comphyjost @smileysvech @tinyhockey @prettytoxicrevolver @hotanddistraught

[highladyjane]

While we're waiting for the announcement, what's your guess for the title of the next acotar book?

Lol, you sneaky nonnie! I've seen this Ask all over my dash today yestereve (I fell asleep writing my response to this)😆 Thank you for letting me join in on the fun!

I've actually had a theory about this hiding somewhere in my drafts for a couple of months now, but I've been too lazy to dig into it because 1. Structured writing, and therefore theories, is not my forte 2. I'm a perfectionist but my mind's messy - so it's all a bit messy, 3. so I might sound like a loony... 4. and I'm too insecure about my thoughts at times to even post about what goes through it 😅

But since you Ask'd... Here's a "shorter" version of that draft, at least:

My theory is that Elain's book will have something to do with ✨️Vines✨️.

Like... A Court of ✨️🌿Golden Vines🌿✨️(which I'm leaning the most towards), ACO Twining Vines, ACO Tangled Vines, ACO Blooming Vines, ACO Shadows and Vines... etc. I'm still trying to figure out where to lay my theory 😅🤣

It may sound very Elucien or even Tamlain, but ✨️Vines✨️ are described as "a plant whose stem requires support and which climbs by tendrils or twining or creeps along the ground" which, if you read or search through the books, also hints and applies to the movement of Azriel's shadows in many instances... @wingedblooms absolutely brilliant post that I quite recently came upon, especially supports the 'Twining'... So I think it's the perfect title to confuse people about her endgame 😜

Anyways, to back up my guess/theory...

Elain's scent is of Jasmine (and Honey), which seems to be the bloom of the Night Court 👀, grows as climbing shrubs or ✨️vines✨️. But I'm feeling specifically strongly for the ✨Vines✨ because

Aaaaand because:

1. Ivy is a ✨vine✨ and Sarah has mentioned it in relation to Elain's book in an interview presented at the back of ACOFAS.

2. Nesta's drawer had flames🔥. Elain had...

🌿✨Twining Vines of flowers✨🌿

We often see the beautiful petals (Elain's softness & beauty), but we don't think about the strength, resilience, and foundation of the vines underneath and........ 👇

3. ✨️Vines✨️ symbolise:

Strength & hope & resilience = Elain's quiet strength.

Determination = Elain has shown determination to help in ways she can, but is yet to be given the chance to...

She also has shown a determined disregard and opposition to having a mate...

Connection = Goes well along with my guess on "Golden" or "Twining" Vines which are often used as adjectives in relation to bonds, threads, and even spells.

Also, Elain is an Archeron sister, Cauldron-blessed, and a Seer - connected to basically every plot and possible subplots in the books (The Cauldron ➡️ Ramiel in Illyria ➡️ Made Objects & People ➡️ The Middle & The Prison/Dusk Court ➡️ The Dread Trove ➡️ Koschei ➡️Vassa ➡️The Human Queens etc.🔁); not just for who she is and her Cauldron-given gifts and abilities, but also possibly through her LIs and family. She's the one sister left unexplored and it all leads back to her. She's basically at the beginning (She's the first sister mentioned by Feyre at the beginning of ACOTAR) and in the end (She's the last sister mentioned by Nesta at the end of ACOSF) of everything. So I don't know if that supports her book being next or last...

Life = the meaning of which also applies to her scent of Honey and "Golden" -the colour of (sun)light, honey, her eyes, her hair.

3. ✨️Vines✨️ are also mentioned/connected to the earthen powers described in CC3 that Sathia & Tristan Flynn + Bryce have, which I believe many has already theorised Elain to also have... I quite like those theories (can't remember exactly where I read them as of rn) and would like to believe that it's something the Cauldron has blessed her with since she's associated with gardening and life...

I also read somewhere in a biblical text (which I wasn't too keen to delve into tbh, so don't trust my word for it, but it's Googlable) where ✨️Golden Vine✨️was associated with Life, Rebirth, and Free Will... But if Elain turns out to be the next Messiah/Saviour/Prophet of Prythian, then it's quite perfect 🤷🏻‍♀️

So... that's sort of my take so far 🫣 Hope it makes sense to you, nonnie 😅

What's yours?

[builtbybrokenbells]

Spitfire | iii

Jake still can’t seem to get the girl from the bar off his mind, even after his time in Baltimore was long forgotten to everyone else. He spends his free time getting to know her, realizing quickly that she’s everything he’s dreamed of. She makes fast at showing him that not everyone is interested in him solely for the fame, but he’s still puzzled at how she pushed him to the brink of falling in love with her in only a mere few weeks.

Read part two here

Read part four here

Pairing: jake kiszka x f!reader

Word count: 5.3k

Warnings: university exams/exam season (🤢), drinking, smoking (weed & cigarettes), long distance, annoying brotherly activities, fluff, mentions of provocative text messages, not really a whole lot w this one, but sorry if i missed any!

hi! here’s part three :) this is mostly a filler to advance to the main story, but i wanted to throw in some long distance fluffiness because i love hurting my own feelings! lots of dialogue to set the scene/relationship/emotion. as always, enjoy, and please be kind and ignore any grammar mistakes 🫶🏻🫶🏻 also disclaimer I am no longer a science student at university so some of the science-y stuff may not be perfectly accurate, no hate pls

~

An incoming call shook you from your focus, your eyes quickly darting down at your phone to see who it was from. You removed your glasses for a moment, rubbing your eyes to wake yourself up. When you put them back on, you noticed that Jake was the one causing the disturbance. A small smile crossed your lips as you picked your phone up, swiping across the screen to accept the video call. His face appeared after a few seconds, a beaming grin plastered on his cheeks. His hair was damp, likely from him showering after the concert he’d just had. A few hours earlier, he promised he’d call when he got back to the hotel, and it wasn’t like Jake to forget a promise.

“Hello, beautiful.” He said before you had a chance to greet him. You let out a small laugh, clicking the lamp on that was sitting on your computer desk. You placed your phone against the screen of your laptop, propping it up so you didn’t have to hold it.

“Hello, handsome.” You greeted back. “But, I am far from beautiful right about now.” You dismissed him, taking your hair down from its messy bun and putting it back up, neater this time. “I think this paper is going to kill me.” You truly meant it. You were in the midst of writing your final thesis paper for your undergraduate degree. After doing a research credit all year long, the paper proved the most difficult of the whole process.

“I think you’re going to ace it.” He said, taking a seat on the hotel bed. “What’s it on, anyway? You never actually told me.” He was right; you’d been working on it the entire time you’d known him, but never dived into the specifics with him, too afraid of talking his ear off about your year-long journey.

“Um,” you gave a small chuckle, pulling out your draft report. “The study of blood-glucose measurement based on blood resistivity.” You muttered the title before tossing the book of paper back down. His eyes widened a bit, trying to process what you were saying, but he covered it up quickly with a supportive nod.

“I love it when you talk science to me.” He sighed, a note of humour radiating from him. You let out a giggle, happy he’d called to ease the tension between you and your work. “But, you know, could you give me a refresher on what exactly that means?” He asked, leaning back against his headboard. You noticed he was shirtless, feeling a small flutter in your stomach at the sight.

“You mean to tell me you can’t tell me all about a diabetic study based off voltage and curve fitting?” You asked, an incredulous look in your eye. He laughed, giving a shrug.

“I’m a bit rusty.” You admired his features, how beautiful he looked when he was happy. You also noticed he looked tired himself, his eyes drooping slightly.

“I’ve been doing a research credit for my degree. I read a study about something similar way back in high school and it stuck with me, because my father’s side of the family struggles with diabetes. My dad and two of my brothers have Type 1. I decided to take a deeper look into it for my thesis.” You explained. He gave you his full attention, humming an agreement to assure you he was listening. “But basically what I’m doing is experimenting to see if we can measure a persons blood-sugar level in a non-invasive way. I studied pulses with electrodes and compared the voltage to different blood-sugar levels on a curve to see if it’s a suitable way to calculate it.”

“Did it work?” He asked, genuinely intrigued.

“Well, sort of.” You scratched your head, furrowing your eyebrows slightly, trying to find the best way to explain it. “There’s definitely a correlation, and I think if it was studied further, it could genuinely get somewhere. It would be pretty cool if it did. Blood-sugar level tests are extremely troublesome in general. They take time, they’re painful, and super expensive in the long run. I know my family spent thousands of dollars on Will and Sam when they were kids, and we had good insurance. It was really interesting to look at. I’m glad I picked it, but almost seven months of study is a lot to compile into one report.” You chuckled. “It’s required to be 40-60 pages long.”

“I think you’re a genius,” he said as a matter-of-fact “and I know that whatever you put down on that paper is going to be fantastic.” He assured you. You gave him a smile, appreciating his words.

“I can only be so much of a genius with a recycled idea,” you reminded, sitting up in your chair. “But I’m almost done the bulk of the work now, so I can forget about it soon enough.”

“When is it due?” He questioned.

“Friday.” You sighed, looking at your calendar. “Three days to go and I’m officially done.”

“See? That’s not so bad. I’ll read it when you’re finished and tell you how amazing it is. I probably won’t understand any of it, but I do know how to give you a compliment.” He flashed the smile that you’d been missing so much. And he was right, he sure did know how to compliment you. It was his favourite pastime, even when you looked as run down as you did in that moment.

“And I would be more than delighted to share it with you.” You watched him again, more interested in him than you’d ever been in your schoolwork. “Anyway, enough about me. How’d your show go, rockstar?”

“I don’t think I can ever get enough of you,” the cheesy line was accompanied by a goofier grin. You rolled your eyes, both of you knowing you weren’t really annoyed with him. “It was good. The crowds are always amazing. We played really well, but I am tired though.”

“Of course you are; it’s hard work to put on a good show.” You sympathized. You could tell how much he loved what he did, but he was always exhausted when he called you at night, which was a common occurrence. He’d been gone for almost two weeks, now, and if he absolutely could not call you during the day, he texted as much as he could. Communication was never ceased, in turn, never leaving you wondering if he meant everything he’d told you. It only took him the length of the plane ride to use your number after he left, claiming he didn’t stop thinking of you once while he was flying away from you. Now, the end of your semester was quickly approaching, which meant the end of your bachelor studies as well.

The day you’d so conveniently ran into him at the coffee shop had sparked a beautifully blossoming relationship. That evening, both went back to your house, where he’d met your roommates (well, officially, at least) and you all had dinner together. You’d given him the house tour he’d been so eager for, and eventually you went back to his hotel with him. Much to everyone’s disbelief, it was completely PG the whole night, aside from a few kisses. You’d met his brothers, spent some time with them and were lucky enough to get to know them, even if it wasn’t much past the surface level. You and Jake spent the night talking, listening to music and really getting past the superficialities.

Not once did he make an advance, proving to you even further that he meant what he’d told you. You shared a bed with him night, falling asleep wrapped in each others arms with no intent for sex or any other hidden implications. It was something you’d never experienced before. When you woke, you got breakfast together. You went with him to the airport to see him off, and he’d kissed you. That’s where the intimacy ended. Now, you had to see him through a phone screen or a camera, always aching to be held by him again. It was the most peace you’d ever known from another person.

You were still nervous, finding it hard to integrate another person into your daily routine in such a way, but the process was made so much easier because of the type of person he was. He was understanding of your timidity, always kind and gentle, he was quick with his words and they were always sweet, and he was gorgeous. Making Jake a part of your every day life had been easier than anything you’d ever done. Nothing was official; it was mostly just phone calls and texting, even if it was constant. A lot of it was innocent, asking about each others days, or mindless chatter that you would never bother to share with anyone else. No matter what you had to say, he always seemed to want to listen. Occasionally, the flirting would take over. He was usually very respectful, he didn’t like to initiate until he knew you were okay with it, but every now and then, he’d send a risky text or picture first. Nothing too graphic, just enough to let you know he was thinking about you. You’d never admit it, but they were some of your favourite texts to receive. Sometimes you would send one first, particularly when it was a bad time for him, just to be an asshole.

You were still processing the entire situation. You’d never been in a relationship or a ‘situationship’, as some say, without it starting with sex, or at least the intent of only having sex. It was nice, knowing him so well before he knew you so intimately. The emotional intimacy felt way nicer than any physical gratification you could imagine. You felt yourself really falling for Jake, despite being so evasive of the idea when you first met him. You truly felt like he was someone you could love, or he was someone who could love you like you’d always wanted.

“When is your ceremony?” He asked. Your eyes shot up to the screen, breaking out of your thoughts.

“Uh, what, sorry?” You cleared your throat, feeling a bit embarrassed for zoning out.

“Your graduation ceremony?” He asked again, not bothered by having to repeat himself.

“Oh,” you looked at your calendar again, eyes tracking the days. There was a big red circle with the word ‘freedom’ scribbled in it. You chuckled to yourself, remembering when Eve had written it. She was over the moon for you when you submitted your credits for review to graduate. She was taking her degree slow, likely to finish in five years rather than four. Knowing that you would still be there with her while she finished, or that she wouldn’t have to leave you behind when she moved away, made both of you relieved beyond measure. “The 24th.” You clarified.

“I have a show that day.” His voice was sad. You felt a bit of disappointment at his words, but you understood. Besides, you’d only known him for a couple weeks; you couldn’t expect him to drop everything to go to your graduation when he barely knew you.

“That’s okay.” You assured him. “I didn’t expect you to go anyway.” You realized how harsh your words sounded after they came out. A solemn look fell across his features. “No, Jake, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.” You rushed out. “I just meant that we’ve only been talking for a few weeks. I would never expect you to drop your whole life to come and see my ceremony.”

“You say that like you’re not important to me.” He said, fidgeting with something behind the screen.

“I know I am, Jake.” You assured him. “And you’re important to me, too. I just know that life is busy. Especially for you, rockstar.” A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

“Maybe Eve will be generous enough to do a video call with me.” He suggested. You nodded, thinking that wasn’t a bad idea at all.

“I’ll have to ask her, but I’m sure she would. I think she likes you.” He let out a small laugh.

“Well that’s good, I guess.” His attention was disrupted by a knock on his door. “Hold on,” he mumbled, getting out of the bed. He continued holding the phone, not wanting to miss a moment of time talking to you. You heard his hotel door open, only being able to see his shoulder on the camera.

“Hello, brother.” You heard a voice say. You could recognize it as Josh’s. He’d joined your calls a fair few times over the last few weeks, just the same as Danny and Sam. You were slowly getting to know all of the boys, which was really making you feel like Jake was serious about this whole thing. “Care to partake?” You heard a laugh fall from Jake, warming your heart. You were certain that it had become your favourite sound in the whole world.

“Yeah, but she has to join, too.” Jake informed his brother.

“Oh, is that y/n?” Josh asked, his excitement growing. “Actually, I don’t think I even have to ask.”

“Hi, Josh!” Your voice echoed from the phone. You saw a struggle on the screen, hearing muffled bumps and noises, until eventually Josh’s smiling face popped into view.

“Hey, mama.” You could hear Jake arguing with his brother, trying to get his phone back. Josh seemed to be walking down the hallway, now, away from his twin. You couldn’t help but giggle at the interaction. “You wanna get drunk with us?” He asked. You eyed your laptop screen, internally debating if you should or not.

“You know, you guys are awfully bad influences.” You teased.

“Is that a yes?” You could see Jake approaching in the background of the camera, now. Josh raised his eyebrow at you in anticipation. He was still evading Jake, picking up his speed as he ran away from him.

“Josh, don’t pressure her into it.” Jake scolded. He sounded far away, you could barely make out what he was saying. You were having a hard time holding back your laughs, now. The whole situation was perfectly comedic and seemed to be exactly what you needed to feel better.

“Yeah, I’d love to, Josh.” You agreed. He let out a triumphant noise, halting his movement completely. Jake finally reached him, grabbing his phone back. You finally lost control of your laughter when you saw his grumpy expression appear in the frame. “Hi, honey.” You joked through bouts of giggles, wiping away a tear that had fallen.

“I’m glad you think he’s funny,” Jake tried to sound annoyed, but he was failing miserably, unable to stay upset while seeing you so happy. “Try being around him all of the time.”

“Oh come on, he’s not that bad.” You comforted, catching your breath.

“You have no idea.” He grumbled, making his way back to his hotel room. Josh appeared behind him, holding a liquor bottle in his hand. You stood yourself, throwing a hoodie on over your tank top. Jake watched you silently, admiring you. He thought you were the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen, even when you were doing the most mundane tasks. You grabbed your cigarette pack from the desk and slipped it into the pocket. “Are you sure you want to stay on the phone? I can let you go, I know you have work to do.” The concern was dripping from his words.

“I’m okay, I want to talk to you guys. I wasn’t getting much work done, anyway. I think I just have to take a break, start fresh tomorrow.” You were lying, but only slightly. Your work was not going fantastic, but you were making progress. Still, you’d rather put the last bit of your report off until tomorrow if it meant you got to spend time with Jake, even if it was virtual.

“Okay, if you’re sure.” Jake said, a note of warning in his tone.

“She wants to hang out with us, Jake. Don’t convince her to change her mind.” You could practically hear Josh’s eye roll in his statement.

“What, I’m not- you know what? Get out.” Even as he said it, there was a smile on his face and a ghost of a laugh in his voice. You thought it was sweet, how close the two boys were. Twin thing aside, they really were best friends. They knew each other better than anyone else, and they were always functioning on the same wavelength. Even when they were mad at each other, they were never really mad.

Almost nightly you’d see an appearance from Josh in your FaceTimes with Jake. He’d instantly added you on his personal social media’s, wanting to know you just as bad as Jake did, but for a different reason. You remembered back to a few days after they left, how Josh had sent you a message telling you that ‘if Jake talked so highly about you, he had to know you, too’. The instant acceptance was heartwarming. The boys reminded you of your own brothers. You were excited for them all to meet, eventually. They’d talked on the phone a few times, but you couldn’t wait for them to all be together and really know each other.

Just as you were exiting your room, your phone began to vibrate again. A grin pulled at your lips. Your brother Sam was calling, too. “Hold on, guys.” You said, clicking the hold button on your current call and answering the video from your sibling. “Hello, spawn of Satan.” You greeted as soon as the call connected.

“I’m really starting to question if you love me or not.” He shot back. You chuckled.

“Oh, I do love you, brother dearest, but it’s because I have to.” You teased. “Hold on, I’m on the phone with Jake. I’m going to merge it.” You informed him. He gave a nod. You clicked into the other call, pressing the merge button. Within a moment, the screen was shared between Jake and Sam. It took Jake a moment to realize what happened, but when he did, his eyes lit up.

“It’s other Sam!” He said. Your brother cracked a smile, probably larger than any one he’d ever given you.

“What’s up, rockstar?” Sam asked. Josh peeked his head into view, not wanting to miss out on any of the conversation. “Twin rockstars!” Jake and Josh got a chuckle out of it. You’d instantly told Sam about Jake, calling him right after you got home from the airport. Sam, being a nosy little shit, did a deep dive of him on all social media’s. Within a few days, all of your brothers knew about him, and were begging you to let them meet him. So, you thought you’d ease the transition by allowing them on a few of your calls with him. Sam had taken to him immediately, especially upon learning he also had a brother named Sam. According to him, it was fate that you and Jake ended up together. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think he wanted to date Jake, too.

“Glad I’m so easily forgettable.” You rolled your eyes, making your way down the hallway and into the kitchen. Ally was sitting at the table with a bowl of soup and her laptop in front of her. She looked like she’d been crying, staring down her final assignment with a look of disdain on her face. Exam season always put a damper on the household mood. You walked over and gave her a supportive shoulder pat, knowing you were close to the same mental state. Sam found himself chatting away with the other two boys, completely ignoring your comment, which only proved your point further. “M’going outside, if you wanna join.” You told her. She shook her head, barely being able to formulate words.

“I have to finish this.” She groaned, relaxing into her chair. “Due tomorrow.”

“Stuck?” You asked, peering down at her screen. She nodded. You gazed at the question that was left answerless, the last one on the page. “Is this Calc III?” She gave a nod. “Okay, where’s your work for it so far?” She pointed out a paragraph.

“I just can’t seem to get the numbers to work out.” She let out a long sigh, throwing her pencil down on the table. You looked over it for a minute, studying the numbers she was using.

“Okay, it’s a relation between a flux and a line integral, right?”

“Yeah, it is.” You turned the volume down on your phone a bit, not wanting to distract her while the boys talked.

“You remember the unit where you talked about the three main integral theorems?” She gave a hum, seeming to get what you’re saying. “One of those has an equation that will solve this question. And you’ll need to remember it for the exam, too, because there’s a couple questions about it.” You told her. She looked like she was wracking her brain for an answer, desperate to remember what you were talking about. After a moment, it seemed to click.

“Stoke’s theorem!” She exploded, catching the attention of all of the boys on the phone call. She noticed the lack of noise, a blush rising to her cheeks. You held up your hand for a high-five, helping her forget about her outburst. “Thank you.” She whispered.

“No problem,” you assured her “now, if you want to join, I will be outside getting fucked up. I am trying to forget about my thesis.” She let out a small laugh.

“How many pages?” She asked.

“I am on page 51, if you must know. Nearly there!” You cheered yourself on. “I should be able to finish it tomorrow.” You went to the fridge, grabbing a bottle of wine and a container of cut up fruit someone had bought at the grocery store.

“I believe in you.” She said, turning back to her laptop. “I might be out in a bit. I haven’t seen Eve all day. Not sure if she’s alive or not, so I’ll have to check on her first.” You saw Sam perk up at the mention of Eve’s name. He probably hadn’t heard from her, either. She was fully immersed in studying, more so than anyone else. She took her exams extremely serious. With a smaller course load, she wanted to ensure her marks were as best as they could be. You were proud of her for it. She worked really hard, but you did miss her presence during exam weeks.

“Saw her this morning drinking orange juice from the bottle, haven’t seen her since.” You informed her. The two of you shared a laugh. “She’s alive, just in hermit mode.”

You parted ways, opening the front door after putting on a pair of slippers. You moved over to the patio chairs placed around a table on the porch. It was a closed porch with large glass windows and another door leading to the street. You thought it was peaceful, finding it your favourite spot in the whole house. You sat down, resting your feet on the table. You pulled out a joint and a cigarette from the cardboard box in your pocket. “What did I miss?” You asked them, now focusing on your screen again.

“We were actually just talking about how much we hate you,” Sam said, a hint of fake sympathy accompanying his words.

“Mmhmm,” you mumbled, joint now between your lips and your lighter setting the tip ablaze. You took a large inhale, the cherry glowing red in the dim lighting. A billow of smoke flowed from your mouth as you exhaled. Almost instantly, you felt the tension melt off your shoulders. Josh seemed positively buzzed, his cheeks burning red and his smile never leaving. Sam looked as though he was ready for bed, eyes heavy and bloodshot. You were sure he’d been high for hours. Jake was sipping a drink silently, but his eyes never seemed to move from the camera.

“Alex and I are flying in Friday morning.” Sam said. Your eyes lit up, a course of adrenaline flowing through your veins.

“Really?” He gave a nod.

“Yeah, we decided to come early, spend some with with you before mom and dad got there. I think our flight leaves here at five.” He explained. “So you better have all of your shit done, because we want to party.” He warned.

“It will be, don’t worry.” You promised. “I think I’ll have my report done by tomorrow. I just have to type the conclusion and my entire novel of sources.” You chuckled to yourself, looking down at the joint between your fingers. “I’ll get Ally to proofread it; she said she would a few days ago. After that, I’m a free woman.” You announced, feeling proud of yourself for getting this far.

After that, the chatter died down. Sam eventually hung up, telling everyone he was tired and wanted to go to bed. You bid your goodbye, already feeling the anticipation begin for his arrival. You and the twins continued on with mindless conversation, sipping away at your drinks. When you cigarette pack was down to the last three, and the bottle of wine was threatening the end, Josh was ready to retire for the night, too. He was dozing off in Jake’s bed every so often, a small snore falling from his mouth periodically. You were caught up in Jake, not caring that the rest of the company had dwindled down. He was exhausted but still immersed in your conversations about nothing, and everything.

It wasn’t too long before Josh stumbled away to his own hotel room. He gave a solemn goodnight, telling you that he wished you were there with them, before he toddled away. Your cheeks were warm in the cool night air, the liquor and weed weighing heavily on you, but not any more than your tiredness.

When Jake settled into bed under the covers, as much as sleep wanted to become him, he couldn’t bring himself to close his eyes. “Are you going to bed, beautiful?” He mumbled. You couldn’t help but giggle to yourself. He was barely formulating the words, head buried so deep in the pillow you could hardly see him anymore.

“I think you probably should.” You told him, concern becoming you. “We can talk tomorrow, rockstar.”

“Don’t want to,” he mumbled “just want you here with me.” Your heart ached, hating to admit to yourself that you felt the same way.

“I know, I do too.” You finally mustered out. As much as you enjoyed talking with Jake, and as aware as you were about your feelings for him, the opening up part was proving quite difficult. You had no problem with the flirting, or the endless conversations, or even the sex talk, but telling him how you truly felt was troublesome. You weren’t sure if it was because you were scared of rejection, or because you were just scared of falling in love with him. “I miss you.” You whispered.

“I miss you too, beautiful.” He seemed more alert now, energized by the fact you’d made that proclamation first, this time.

“When can I see you again?” You picked at some frayed strings on your pants, avoiding looking at him.

“Soon, I promise. Once you finish school, I’ll take you around the world with me.” His smile brought your attention back to him. You found it impossible to look anywhere else. Your chest burned at his statement, wondering if he was being truthful or not.

“You mean it?”

“Never meant anything more in my life.” He assured you. “I hate sleeping alone, now, ‘cause I know what it’s like to sleep next to you.” You stood to go back inside, butting out your last cigarette of the night before entering through the front door and locking it behind you. You didn’t answer him until you were in your bedroom with the door closed.

“Don’t make promises you don’t mean, rockstar.” You took off your sweater and your pants, climbing into bed. The alcohol was buzzing through your veins, making your head feel a bit fuzzy. You were more than ready for bed.

“I’ve never told you anything I didn’t mean, baby.” The pet name rolled off his tongue so effortlessly, like he was meant to call you that all along, but it hit you with such an impact that you were sure it had stopped your heart for a moment. He’d called you plenty of other names, more in a compliment context, but such a domestic title was something very new. He didn’t even notice the effect it had on you; he was laying there with his eyes closed, phone only showing half of his face in the frame. When you didn’t answer, he opened one of his eyes to see what was going on. “I’m sorry, did that bother you? I wasn’t thinking,” he rushed out.

“No, Jake. It’s okay.” You reassured him. “I liked it.” A small smile creeped onto his face. You couldn’t help but return it. “I think I’m falling for you, rockstar.” You breathed after a moment too long.

“I already have, witchy woman.” His eyes were open again, watching the blush spread across your cheeks. That was the best way he could say it, because he was afraid he’d already fallen in love with you. He was glad he could at least tell you a sliver of what he was feeling for you. “I can’t wait to see you again.”

“Soon,” you said, curling up into your blankets.

“Can we stay on the phone tonight?” He asked. “I don’t want to hang up.”

“Yeah, I’d like that a lot.” You turned over, plugging your phone into the charger. You set your phone on your nightstand, propped up against a book so he could see you. He shuffled around, doing the same thing. This wasn’t the first time you’d fallen asleep with him on the phone. You hadn’t done it in a few days, though. It was nice. When the days permitted, sometimes you even got to wake up to him before he had to go. He usually waited as long as he could before hanging up so he could at least try to say good morning. If you were awake first, you did the same. You really enjoyed the little routines you two had been building together.

You both settled into your beds, rustling in the pillows and blankets to find the comfiest position. You watched your phone, wanting to soak in every second of seeing his face. “Goodnight, beautiful.” He mumbled, sleep calling to him. “Sleep well, I’ll see you in the morning.” He said it as if it were a promise.

“Goodnight, rockstar.” You whispered. His eyes fluttered closed as he bit his tongue, holding back any other words. The ‘L’ word was always so dangerously close to slipping out of his mouth. He felt so stupid, wanting to say ‘I love you’, when he’d only known you for a few weeks, but he felt like he really did. He’d never met anyone else who made him feel like you did, and it started from the minute he saw you.

Before you closed your own eyes, they drifted to the wall behind your computer desk. The record sleeve of one of Jake’s albums stood so beautifully prominent, his signature illuminated by your desk lamp. Your gaze lingered over the sharpie marks, stomach fluttering at the memory of him writing it. You fell asleep with a smile, already excited to wake up to him in the morning.

~

Tag list: @gvfpal @jakesgrapejuice

[vinelark]

can you talk more about your writing process? do you outline? what does your drafting process look like? I love to hear about the ways my fave fic writers write because everyone is so different!

hello! a while ago i wrote a bit about the broad idea-to-ao3 journey my fics usually take, and i’m always happy to go more in depth about outlining/drafting since i find it really interesting when i see other writers talk about it too 😊

i do outline, and often extensively—my outlines start out long and get longer as i go. usually my initial outline is a basic version of me telling myself the story; i have all the major beats in chronological order and all the random details/scene ideas i’ve already thought of while brainstorming. it’s very messy and often just for me, so i’m barely even using punctuation at that point. but by the time i start drafting i know where the fic ends, even if i don’t know the exact final scene/beat. for example, before i started even drafting chapter 1 of bbts i already knew what all the 5 + 1 scenarios were, when the identity reveal dropped (and didn’t drop), who the Big Bad was, and how that overarching plot connected to each scenario, so i was ready to start filling in the actual story details from there.

after that my outlines are constantly growing documents because i jump around and add things as i go, getting more detailed the closer i get to drafting—by the time i reach a scene to actually write it, it’s usually pretty well beated out for me. i zerodraft scenes right in the outline document, and then draft over those zerodrafts, so the outline eventually becomes the fic itself.

here are a few examples of what some bits of bbts chapter 4 looked like in the outline by the time i started drafting it vs. the final fic (also copied under the cut because they’re a bit long for alt text):

i don’t write every day (i wish!) but i do usually at least open the document every day or jot down ideas. especially in a mad scramble after i shower, because i always end up planning whole conversations/action sequences in my head while showering or brushing my teeth or otherwise doing something where i can’t reach for my phone immediately 😅 i tend to outline/zerodraft quickly but draft slowly (details always take so much longer than i expect), but i do write faster and faster the closer i get to finishing a chapter/fic.

also, i workshop a lot as i go! going to friends like “hey i’m trying to [hurt a character in a specific way] but having trouble blocking the scene. can anyone help me achieve this more practically” is one of my favorite parts of the process.

text for outline vs. final snippets:

original outline:

have you ever been?

hmm? yeah i, uh, studied abroad here for a bit.

ah. kon should’ve figured;

before he can feel too disappointed, though, tim flashes a small smile and says, never seen it from this angle, though.

final snippet:

“Have you ever been?” Kon asks.

“Hmm?” The mylar crinkles as Tim leans further. “Yeah I, uh, studied abroad here for a bit.”

“Ah.” Kon probably should’ve figured.

Before he can feel too disappointed, though, Tim flashes him another smile and says, “Never seen it from this angle, though. Plane windows don’t really do it justice.”

original outline:

tim and bruce talking, bruce is like, yes, it’s safer the less people know who we are, but it’s not just about that. i want you to have something to return to. i want your civilian identity to be a haven—i don’t want robin to define you. if you ever stop being robin, i want you to still be able to be tim.

also if bruce wayne is compromised, it compromises my ability to keep you safe. i want you to be safe. but i also have another reason. it’s selfish of me. if tim drake is compromised, it would be much harder to keep you here with me, as my family. as someone i can care for as bruce wayne. and i want to keep you, tim.

final snippet:

Bruce holds up a hand. “It’s not that. That is—yes, the less people who know, the safer we are. But I’m trying to say…it’s not just about that. I have trouble explaining this part; it always comes out wrong. I think the first time I tried was the first time Dick called me a despot, actually.” He snorts, quiet and wry. “I’ll try to do better this time. What it really comes down to is this: I want you to have something to return to. I want your civilian identity to be a haven—I don’t want Robin to define you. If you ever stop being Robin, I want you to still be able to be Tim. If Tim Drake is compromised, it’s harder for you to have that option. And if Bruce Wayne is compromised, too, it compromises my ability to keep you safe. I want you to be safe. But I also have another reason, and this is the selfish part. The part I couldn’t explain right last time. Which is: if Bruce Wayne were compromised, it would be much harder to keep you here with me, as someone I can help in all of your identities. As my family. Not impossible—I would never let it be impossible. But it would make it harder, and that’s what scares me, more than the rest of it combined. Because I want to keep you, Tim.”

original outline:

oh, tim says. no, that’s. it’s fine. i didn’t. doesn’t know what else to say. it’s just. i’m robin, there on the tip of his tongue. he can’t say it past the hot embarrassment clawing at his throat, pulsing behind his eyes. he summons his mother, summons brucie wayne, summons normal, boring, see-through tim drake, and manages a vacant smile

final snippet:

The words have sort of been washing over Tim like a tidal wave, but he recognizes that he’s probably supposed to respond in some way. “Oh,” he says. “No, that’s. It’s fine. I didn’t.”

He doesn’t know what else to say. His hand is still resting against the mask in his pocket, I’m Robin right there on the tip of his tongue, technically irrelevant to whether or not Kon wants to date Tim Drake. But he can’t say it past the hot embarrassment clawing at his throat, pulsing behind his eyes. He wants to ask for a minute to think, to turn around so Kon can’t see his face, and immediately feels even more humiliated for needing that. He should’ve known. He should’ve known.

“Tim?” Kon says quietly.

Tim draws in a long breath. Another. He summons his mother, summons Brucie Wayne, summons normal, boring, see-through Tim Drake, and manages a vacant smile. “It’s fine,” he says. “I get it. Thanks for being honest.”

[human-still-developing]

Beta Reading: A Guide

Hey everyone!

I'm Hics, your neighbourhood writer, editor and professional procrastinator <3 I realised my writing advice series has gone a little cold so I thought I might freshen it up with a quick guide on beta-reading!!!!

Now before we begin, I thought I might just state up front that BETA READING IS NOT THE SAME AS PROFESSIONAL EDITING...if you're looking for tips on the later, I do have a few guides on constructive criticism but am planning on doing one up for editing as well!

So lets jump straight into beta reading!

What's a Beta Reader?

In the publishing world, we usually roughly categorise our readers into two groups. 'Alpha' readers are generally your experienced reader who will look over unpolished/first drafts of a work to give opinions on direction, concepts and story progression. This allows an author to shift/refine their outlook over their own work before coming up with a polished piece of writing that they can present to an audience/publisher. 'Beta' readers are responsible for reading a POLISHED piece of work to give opinions on reader appeal, outreach to intended audience and provide a moral boost to the writer :) Their role is less to critique the impact/intent of a piece of writing and more to give a well-crafted opinion on how the writing holds on its own.

Often in more casual settings the roles of the above two readers can overlap!

What is the role of a Beta Reader?

If you are considering becoming a beta reader or looking for one, here is some of the key information a beta reader should provide:

A good understanding of the audience your work is suited for/ an idea of how well your work reaches to your target audience! (e.g. is your slow-burn fan-fiction really centred around the relationship or does it go off on a tangent?)

Feedback on places you can improve/edit your work (e.g. does your slipstream metafiction have too many recurring motifs for the audience to relate to?)

Some of the best features of your work/writing style!

Your beta-reader is often the last stop before your writing train reaches the big, wide world! At this point, you're all ready for your work to be released and they're just here to top up your supplies and give you a pat on the back before you set free <3

How do I become a good Beta Reader?

Read! The more exposure you have of writing and its genres (even ones that you don't usually beta for), the more tailored and specific your advice will be :)

Choose works to read in a form/style you are comfortable in! Don't read over someone's ancient greek play if you haven't heard of the Iliad :) Even though having a wide variety of skills and experiences are useful for a beta-reader, it is important that you provide relevant and valid advice to your writer!

Give personal and specific feedback! Something that I try and include in my beta reading are some of my favourite quotes from the text that really emulate that writer's message. Not only does this help the writer realise the most poignant parts of their writing, it also gives them a moral boost!

How do I choose a beta reader for my work?

Find someone who has experience in the type of writing you do! If you're writing fan-fiction for example, don't get a beta-reader who has never read/watched the original text before!

Pick an unbiased friend/person who you know will not be afraid to provide you with feedback/opinions AND will also not tear apart your work.

Trust your gut instinct. Often you already have an idea of who will provide the best advice for your writing!

So there it is folks, a quick and messy guide to beta-reading! Questions and comments are most welcome; my ask box and DMs are always open <3 If you're interested in beta-reading/looking for a beta-reader, hit me up and I'd love to help/scout around with you! I also do a bit of beta-reading here and there too (more editing outside of tumblr but I'd love to read your work) <3

Happy reading!

<3 Hics

[arminsumi]

Hi Jay! Can I ask for headcanons for Eren with s/o who is studying art history? And his s/o is like smart and interested in literature and philosophy and Eren is feeling a bit insecure because he think he's not enough for his partner and they deserve someone better

Alsoo I just want to say I looove your writing! ☺️

Hi sweetie! Ty for the kind words it means a great deal to me!

P.s. so sorry it took me a while to get around to this req, my drafts section has gotten very messy! So many unfinished stories... ( 〃▽〃)

Hcs / E. Jaeger

Just thinking about how Eren asks his dad about the literature you're talking about, so he can clue himself up on it, and how he just nods quietly when you go on your 1 am philosophy rambles.

Cws; fluff, pre-est relationship (dating)

Notes on y/n; gn!

Notes on this au; college! au

Definitely gushes to his parents about you! Practically has stars in his eyes when your name is on his lips

Embarrassedly asks his dad about the literature you're reading, since he's clued up on it

Loves going to art museums with you, even though his eyes are on you rather than the works of art. Also holds your hand when you stop to look at things

A good listener! One of his favorite things is to just sit there and listen to you enthuse about what you're learning, it makes his chest flutter

Feels the most insecure when he can't respond with anything valuable, especially when you're philosophizing

Sometimes he'll nod and have this far-away look, if you ask him if he's okay he'll start blushing

He seems to recede into this imaginary shell when he sees Armin fluidly debating with you about philosophy

Goes without saying, but he proudly gushes about you to armin with bright eyes

Eren has these curious eyes, sometimes they light up when you mention something specific, like renaissance-period art or sculpture art

And he really likes sculpture art! If he sees it at an art museum he'll be completely captivated

Sometimes when he feels overwhelmingly insecure about his lacking knowledge or inadequacy, he'll let out this very dramatic sigh

You might catch him looking at you with this dreamy gaze, he won't admit it but he's admiring how smart you are

Complains to Armin about feeling inadequate a lot, and requires a lot of pep talks

Sometimes he'll bluntly tell you that he has no idea what you're talking about, "I don't know what you just said, but it sounded nice."

Adores your 1 am philosophical rambles, whether it's over text or on a phone call, or face-to-face, he gets really invested

He will teach you to play guitar in return for you teaching him all about what you're learning!

Complains to Armin about feeling inadequate a lot, and requires a lot of pep talks

Sometimes he'll bluntly tell you that he has no idea what you're talking about, "I don't know what you just said, but it sounded nice."

Adores your 1 am philosophical rambles, whether it's over text or on a phone call, or face-to-face, he gets really invested

He will teach you to play guitar in return for you teaching him all about what you're learning!

[laladellakang]

OMGG i'm so honored that you will let me see the draft of you futur post if I want to and OFC i want to you're like one of my fav author/writer on tumblr so why i would not want to see one of your draft ?! Like really i'm currently so shocked 🥹🥹 i love youuuuu ( and Lala too ofc my girl ) 🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼

OKAY SO HERE IT IS, MAJORRR FIC SPOILER AND ITS SO SO BAD IM SO NOT PROUD OF IT. IT MAKES NOOOO SENSE (i mean it does but doesnt at the same time) but it was your birthday yesterday and i really wanted to give you a gift. please look forward to the revised and BETTER ver of this soon! 🤍

contains: angst. mentions of cheating (mainly jay)

The world is fucking different. 

Something is off, and I can sense it. Everything just feels strange.

Today, I went to campus for a lecture and ended up accidentally falling asleep in class. No big deal, right? It's not like it hasn't happened before.

The big deal was how odd everything was when I left the room.

I was supposed to be picked up by the car and taken home, but after waiting for ten minutes, there was no sign of it. 

I tried calling our driver, but the call got disconnected. I attempted to reach out to Sungho and Yunji, but their calls were disconnected too. I even tried calling every manager contact on my phone, but nothing worked. Plus it's not like I don't have any signal, it just wouldn't connect for some reason. Something about the numbers not existing.

I decided to take a taxi, hoping it wouldn't cause any trouble. But even the ride home felt odd. Seoul looked... different.

I texted the boys that I was on my way with a taxi and that I feel a bit off. I didn't get a reply or a single read, not even from Jungwon.

But it's whatever! I just wanna get home and cuddle with whoever's free.

Taking a deep breath, I entered the dorm using the combination.

My heart sank as soon as I stepped in.

Female shoes. Ones that are definitely not mine.

Nausea overcame me, and my breathing became heavy as tears welled up.

No. Della, don't. You trust them. She could be anyone. No one is cheating on you.

What if it's a sasaeng? Is someone breaking into our– no. Most, if not all, of the boys should be home. They would have done something if someone had broken in.

It can't be a relative either, as we would have informed the group beforehand.

Then who is she?

"I'm home," I managed to say in a normal voice, trying to hold back the tears.

I heard panicked shuffling and quickly wiped away stray tears before they could see me.

You're strong, Kang Della. Don't show any weakness or insecurity to whoever this person is.

And there she was, someone I had never met or seen before.

She had made herself at home, wearing loungewear and her hair styled in a messy up-do.

Her eyes were wide, mirroring my previous vulnerability, and her breathing was heavy.

And she was stunning. Her freshly-dyed blonde hair contrasted with my midnight black one. She was tall (though not as tall as me, judging by how high she reached the shoe rack), with a small face, big eyes, and plump lips.

Honestly, she reminded me of myself, but in a different font or something. I don't think she's Korean.

"Who are you, and how did you find out where we live?" she asked me fearfully. "How did you know the passcode?"

Wow.

Just wow.

I know that in situations like this (or at least what it's looking like), the blame should mainly fall on the cheater rather than the person they cheated with.

But she just referred to my home as hers. Ain't no fucking way.

"Where YOU live?" I scoffed, licking the inside of my cheek. "I'm sorry– who are you, and why are YOU here?"

That's when I noticed she was wearing my favorite Jay-shirt. It felt like my heart was being crushed, and I could feel the symptoms of a panic attack creeping up.

My sweet Jay. Earlier today, he woke me up and told me I was the most beautiful woman in the world. How lucky he felt to have me. His eyes showed sincerity. Was it all a lie? How can someone so lovely be so cruel?

"I live here. Who are you, and how did you know the passcode?" she responded, a bit more sternly. What the hell?

"This is Enhypen's dorm. I live here," I said, surprised that she didn't recognize me, even though she's dating a member of my group.

Shit. That stings. Park Jongseong fucking cheated on me.

Confusion crossed her face, and she was about to say something when we were interrupted by more shuffling.

We both turned and saw an angry Heeseung.

"What are you doing here? How did you get in?" he said sternly, pulling her behind him to protect her.

Heeseung too? My protective Heeseung who got angry at the other members if they left me unsupervised after my injury.

Now he's protecting her instead of me?

My heart started pounding, and it became harder to breathe.

"Heeseung-oppa?" I said in a small voice, feeling incredibly betrayed.

"Who are you?! Get out of our house before we call the police!" he raised his voice at me. The boys had never spoken to me like that before, especially not in such a harsh tone.

"I live here! Lee Heeseung, what are you saying?!" my voice shook as a few tears escaped.

More commotion followed, and this time all seven members appeared. Even Jake, who I could see peeking from the side of the wall.

Is he... afraid of me?

My Jake who was scared of the girls in I-Land but became so comfortable with me that his golden retriever personality came out. Now he barely wants to see me?

"You don't live here. Who are you?" Jungwon stepped forward. My Jungwon. Enhypen's leader who is ready to protect everyone despite being maknae.

But why isn't he protecting me?

"I—" the sight of all my boyfriends turning against me and defending this girl became too much. I could feel myself starting to hyperventilate, and a panic attack was on the verge of consuming me.

Shit. I haven't had a panic attack in so long and the fact that my lovers are the ones to trigger it is insane. Everything was perfect just this morning– what happened?

"Breathe. Take your time," Oh my Sunghoon. So incredibly precious. Always reassuring and giving me reminders since day one.

"Sunghoon," Heeseung scolded.

"She's going to have a panic attack! How can she explain anything?" Sunghoon reasoned. "Niki, get her some water."

"No, Niki. She should leave. Now," Sunoo said firmly. "I'm calling the police." My Sunoo, our sunshine. We've had our squabbles, but I've never been this scared of him. Now I understand what people mean when they say he has an intimidating face.

"Wait, wait. What's your name?" Riki asked. "Calm down a bit. Tell us how you got in," he approached me and gently rubbed my shoulder. I tend to forget that he's still so young since he hates when I remind him of our slight age gap. My Riki is too pure sometimes. He's doing this when I'm a stranger to them. 

Wait.

It suddenly hit me.

Shit, why didn't my brain work faster?

I'm a stranger to them. They don't know who I am.

It breaks my heart but I should at least introduce myself so that they know I'm not a threat.

I TOLD YOU THE WORLD IS FUCKING DIFFERENT.

"Jay-hyung, call the police," Riki switched languages, probably to ensure that I don't understand.

"Wait! Don't call!" my eyes widened, instinctively grabbing Riki's wrist. "I'm not a crazy fan, I swear!"

"Let go of him," everyone said in unison.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hold him. It was a reflex," I let go and took a deep breath. "My name is Kang Della. I'm a member of Enhypen."

"I'm sorry, what?" Sunoo scoffed. "We only have two female members in our team."

Two?

"What the fuck is happening with the world?" I couldn't help but chuckle humorlessly. "Have I gone insane?"

"Answer us– what do you mean you're a member of Enhypen?" Jungwon asked.

"Did I do that thing from Everything, Everywhere, All at Once?" I leaned against the wall, clutching my aching head. "Just give me a second."

I have officially gone insane.

Even if I did 'multiverse hopped' or whatever you call it, I have officially gone insane. My head fucking hurts.

"Can you please answer us?" Jake asked in a softer voice.

"My name is Kang Della. I was born on March 16, 2003. I'm from Seongbuk-gu, and in 2020, I participated in a survival show called I-Land," I looked up at their faces, hoping to see some recognition. Some looked in disbelief, while others seemed slightly annoyed.

"I made it into the final lineup of Enhypen. Seven boys, two girls. It was you seven plus me and Alice, but Alice left shortly after, so I was the only girl," my eyes welled up with tears at the thought of them not remembering me after everything we went through. "I live here. This dorm has been my home for almost three years. I was attending a class in university, and suddenly I came home to... to this."

"You expect us to–" Heeseung was about to say something when she cut him off. She moved closer to me, looking me in the eye. "Mila–"

"Do you have any proof?" she asked softly.

I maintained eye contact as I pulled out my phone. I let out a shaky breath when I looked at the screen for my Face ID.

The lock screen displayed a picture of us, my Enha.

I opened the gallery app, and a few tears escaped my eyes. I flinched slightly when Mila's hand reached out to wipe them away.

"Take your time," she assured me. Damn, she's sweet too. She seems perfect.

"Thank you," I whispered. My thumb hovered over the photo album labeled 'my forever.' I know I'm being dramatic but all I kept thinking was 'will I ever return to my world again?' "Here you go," I handed her my phone.

I watched as she scrolled through the pictures, but quickly adverted my gaze to the floor. I really wanna go home. I'm surrounded by my comfort people but they're not my comfort people.

"Guys.. These are actually you..." Mila turned around to show the seven. "And it's not even a look alike, it's definitely you. This is the company building," Jay took the phone out of her hands to have a closer look.

I saw him tap on a certain video and Shout Out started playing. That's when I couldn't take it anymore. Again.

I broke down. A full on panic attack.

"Oh my God," Mila wrapped her arms around me. "Let's get you inside. Niki, get her water."

Hearing Shout Out made me think of four things at the same time;

1. How the hell am I gonna go home and how long will it take.

2. I'm all alone in this world/universe/whatever this is.

3. I'm surrounded by people who look and are practically my soulmates, but they're not mine.

4. I guess we're not together in every universe after all. I know it's probably impossible and that the guys were just reassuring me for the sake of it, yet it still stings. This is a reality check.

[milliemuus]

POKEMON SV INDIGO DISK PREDICTIONS IN A WARRIOR CATS AU (PART 2) ⚠️SPOILERS AHEAD⚠️

(Here's part 1! I'd recommend reading it first for more context!)

I ALAO WANNA APOLOGIZE FOR MY TEXT IN THE SCREENSHOTS BEING MESSY I GET TOO EXCITED SOMETIMES LMAO

Anyhow, continuing from Poppysong:

Briarhaze mentored Poppypaw/song

It may seem like nothing, but when I got this piece of dialogue from the dlc, I got really excited:

And one last bit of hcs for Poppysong because I cannot find more:

This kinda piggybacks off the last post, about Carmime taking extracurriculars and not having any time. This one is rlly short, and I heavily apologize.

Anyways, I think that's all for Poppysong! Onto the next:

Briarhaze (Ms. Briar)

Her design

So Briarhaze surprised me in Indigo Disk a little bit. I was inspired off the art from tje trailer of her, and so I made some hcs. Here are a few:

Briarhaze info:

I also use Poppypaw on accident in one part, but it's clear what I mean. So, Briarhaze takes the littermates and Maplewing to Area Zero. Read this first, then watch the clip

Darkwing wants to go to the crater to obtain his 9 lives and she (Briarhaze) indulges him in that. She plays a middleman, basically.

When the pair of littermates (Poppysong and Darkwing) and Maplewing finds out she had been using them for answers, Poppysong (not paw) is devastated.

OKAY SO I'M GONNA HAVE TO MAKE A PART 3 💀 I HOPE MY LITTLE COMPARISONS ARE AT LEAST A TAD SOUND, BCOZ I KNOW THEY SEEM KINDA DELUSIONAL LMAOOOO

Anyways, I hope you stick around HSGDHJEXHJD

[ijwrsmff]

Yandere Yor where her darling (just friends right now) gets into a fight with their current partner, leading to them saying "I wish I was dating you instead." Thorn Princess things happen.

I misunderstood this ask a little bit XD There wasn't really an argument between you and your partner, but more of a "I'm so sick of this behavior" kind of thing. Either way, I hope you like it! I am so in love with Yor it isn't even funny.

Tw; character death (but no details mentioned at all), typical yandere behavior.

Word count: 1,439

You had met Yor a few months ago, and you two have become really close since then. She said her apartment was messy, so you never really went to her place. But that was alright, because you really liked your own place. 

Today, she was visiting, and your partner was at work. 

“Hey Yor! Come in!” You opened the door for her and she walked in, smiling at you. 

“Hello! How are you?” It was simple, but she wanted to know how you were doing. She seemed to glance over her own feelings, but she cared deeply for yours. 

You led her to your living room, and both sat down with your choice of tea or coffee.

You made small talk for a while, and she told some stories of her days at her job, while you gave stories about your job. 

After a while, you were interrupted by a text. “Hold on, Yor. It’s from my partner.” 

She gave a cold look, but it quickly went away and was replaced with concern. 

“Something wrong?” She sounded as concerned as she looked. 

You groaned, reading the text. “They’re going to come home late. They’re out drinking…again.” You flopped down on the couch, your head resting next to Yor’s thigh, and feet dangling over the end of the couch. 

She smiled and reached over to pat your head. “Doesn’t that make every day this week that they left you alone to go drinking with friends?” She looked down at you, clearly concerned for your feelings. 

Another groan from you, “Yeah…god they’re so irresponsible.” You leaned into her touch, and a soft blush formed on her face at just how cute you were. 

“I’m sorry dear…” She continued to pat your head, and you smiled at her for this. 

“I’m so done…” You sighed and put your hands up, stopping her from patting your head, and you took her hand in both of your own. “I wish I was dating you instead.” 

Her face turned shocked, and she didn’t say anything. 

You sat up, realizing what you said a moment too late. “I’m so sorry! It just came out, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable!” Standing up to put some distance between you two, you covered your face, embarrassed. 

You didn’t hear her stand up, though it didn’t surprise you as you noticed a long time ago how she moved completely silently. 

She took your hands and removed them from your face. 

“I’m not uncomfortable…” You looked away from her, and she placed a finger on your chin, causing you to look directly at her. 

You were met with the sight of a deep red blush on her face, and a soft smile. One you’ve come to love. 

Yor spoke to you, “I like you. If you’ll let me…I’ll take you away from them. You deserve better.” She looked away from you briefly as the red on her face amplified somehow, “And I think I can be the better you deserve. I don’t have much, but I’d do anything to be able to provide for you.” 

“R-really?” You kept trying to look away in embarrassment, but she would continuously use her finger to make you look back at her. “You care about me? I care about you so much! I haven’t been happy with my partner in a long time…if it’s okay…I’d like for you to be my girlfriend instead.” 

The smile on her face melted your heart, as she spoke, “I would love that.” She gave you a second to recover, and held your hands before kissing your cheek. “Would it be okay if I stayed the night tonight?” 

“But what about-”

She interrupted, “Don’t worry about them. I’ll help you draft a breakup text if you want. I plan to move soon…you’re always welcome to come to my new place. It won’t be far from here, so once you’re able…maybe we could move there together.” 

A couple months ago, you wouldn’t have wanted to move out from you and your partner’s place, but the constant outings...you rarely see them anymore anyways. You fell out of love with them a long time ago, and have been harboring feelings for Yor instead. 

You had been friends with Yor for long enough, you trusted her a lot. Maybe moving in with her was the right choice to make. 

“O-okay!” You smiled at her and she smiled back. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll sleep on the couch.” Her thoughtfulness was reassuring. 

You spent the next few hours making jokes, playing video games (of which Yor was terrible at but it was endearing), and cooking together. 

It was so domestic…you thought…’I could get used to this.’ 

But alas, you were getting tired. You yawned, and Yor giggled. 

“If you’re tired, go to bed silly! Don’t overwork yourself!” 

You smiled at her sheepishly, “Alright…then…I’ll see you tomorrow?” 

Another giggle from her. God she was just so cute, “Of course! I’ll be here when you wake up.” She ushered you to your room, and you heard her lay down on the couch. 

You awoke to the sound of your front door opening, and you went to check, thinking your ex partner would be coming home. It was late, around 3 am, but that was typical. 

What you didn’t expect to see was Yor coming in, dressed in different clothes than she was wearing before. 

“Yor…? What are you doing?” You yawned, still half asleep. 

She looked at you, shocked at your being awake, “Oh! I got uncomfortable in the clothes I was wearing, so I ran home and changed!” 

Again, you trusted her, so you took her word for it. 

“Alright…I’m gonna go back to sleep for a few more hours.” And you turned to leave, but she walked over to you and turned you to face her. 

“Alright dear…sleep well.” And she kissed your cheek once again. 

A small blush was on your face at the gesture, but you ignored it as you were still very tired. 

The next morning, you awoke at your usual time, and left your room to see Yor sitting up on the couch watching tv. 

You didn’t pay it much mind, walking to the kitchen to start making breakfast for the two of you, when you heard something you wished you didn’t…

From the tv, you heard a reporter say, “Last night a murder victim was found in the alleyway between the convenience store and the Rabbit’s Foot Bar.” 

You rushed into the living room, not even looking at Yor. 

Then…they showed your ex partner’s picture. 

They were…they were…dead?

Tears streamed down your face. Sure you didn’t love them anymore, but you didn’t want them dead.

A sigh came from Yor, and you turned to look at her, “I’m sorry love…they won’t hurt you anymore. You should be happy.” There was a dark look on her face. 

“W-what? Yor! You can’t say that, I didn’t want them to die!” The tears continued to fall, and you looked back to the tv. 

“The body was discovered at 2:46 am, and the time of death was estimated to be within minutes of the body’s discovery” You tuned out the rest. 

“Yor…” You faced her, putting the pieces together. “Where did you really go last night?” The time of death matched how long it would take to get to the bar by foot, if she arrived around 3am…there was no way…she couldn’t have…

“I needed to do it, you know.” 

Your eyes widened, she just confessed to murder. 

“They hurt you. Anyone that hurts you doesn’t deserve to live on the same earth as you.” She stood up, walking slowly over to you. 

You were too shocked to back away. Your voice was caught in your throat. 

“Don’t you worry about a single thing, love. You’ll live with me, you won’t even have to work if you don’t want to. I can provide everything you need…as long as you stay with me.” She smiled, and leaned in, your lips almost touching. 

You closed your eyes, wanting this nightmare to be over, as she slowly kissed your lips. 

Under any other circumstances that would have made you melt on the spot. But knowing she…she killed him. It made you go stiff, and filled you with fear. 

She pulled away, and looked deep into your eyes, “Sorry…I might be moving too fast. I’ll slow down to your pace. We’ll go at your speed…okay?” 

You found yourself nodding, and she pulled you up off the floor, with strength you didn’t know she had. This woman was dangerous. 

So why…did you want to go with her?

[chayscribbles]

chayscribbles’ monthly writing update ☆ january 2023

☆ STATISTICS.

words written: 10 029

projects worked on: Andromeda Rogue; The Gemini Heist; and a Third, Secret Thing :)

proudest accomplishment: uhhh i can't really thing of anything... i made it to 10k words for the month at the very last minute does that count

books read: Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty; Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty

☆ GENERAL COMMENTS.

as you may or may not have noticed i haven't really been active on writeblr lately. between work, the fact that it's january, and having to shovel through, like, 4 snow storms, i haven't really had the time or energy.

started the writing year super strong. hit a wall about halfway and have since been in a terrible slump for most of the month.

however it turns out that you can trick your brain into thinking it's experiencing New WIP Euphoria by digging up and revamping an old wip (i.e. the Third, Secret Thing).

book comments: both books i read were about murder in space. both were pretty good. both get a solid 4/5 stars.

(between that, watching Glass Onion, rewatching Murder She Wrote, and starting to watch Columbo, i think i'm on a bit of a murder kick lately.)

more specific wip-related comments + featured excerpt below.

☆ COMMENTS: ANDROMEDA ROGUE (draft 2)

not much to say about this one tbh. while most of my words from this month came from this wip, i've,, mostly just been patching up little things like smoothing over inconsistent details and adding a little meat to description and exposition... but i've been procrastinating on fixing the Big Stuff 😭

i really like how the new version is turning out compared to the first version tho. it's so much cleaner & that's very satisfying.

if only i could just *clenches fist* get myself to actually fuckin work on it

☆ COMMENTS: THE GEMINI HEIST (outlining / draft 0.5 or something)

i finished part 1 of 7!... and now i have no idea what i'm doing.

i don't think i like fast drafting lol. i hate how shitty my quality of writing has been. and yeah whatever that's the point of a fast draft blablabla but like, when my draft is already a little bit readable i can go back and reread parts and be like "oh hey this isn't half bad". and i know people are always like "don't reread right away!!! just keep writing!!!!!!!" but for me rereading as i go is part of the process lmao. not only does it remind me of important things i would otherwise forget, it also encourages me to keep going when i see that what i've done isn't terrible.

and... with this fast draft everything just feels terrible.

not to mention i can't seem to untangle plot... heists are fuckin hard to plan. especially since there's multiple opposing parties with different plans that are all going to inevitably go to shit, and so i have to make more plans for when that happens. it feels so complicated uuuggghghhhgh

☆ COMMENTS: a Third, Secret Thing (???)

i'm not gonna talk about it too much publicly yet so i don't jinx whatever is going on here (and i want to make sure i'm a bit more committed to this thing before introducing anything) but all i'll say is it's an older wip that i've talked about on my old blog that i've dug out and changed the genre into a dark modern fantasy mystery with messy sapphics.

☆ FEATURED EXCERPT.

alright i know i said i didn't want to talk too much about the Third Secret Thing yet but i couldn't find any passages to share in either AR or GH... so have this, with very little context :') uhhh tw for mentions of death and murder.

That’s how she ended up peeking groggily out the door at the frigid winter morning, having hastily thrown a sweatshirt over her pyjamas and a towel over her hair, only to have two police officers inform her that Vanessa Villa-Cortez had been found dead in her apartment early that morning.

“D… dead?” Amina repeated, her mind in a haze. She had to still be asleep, right? Maybe the guilt over ignoring that text had seeped into her subconscious and was feeding her dreams. There was no way someone was at her door telling her that Vanessa, a girl she hadn’t heard from in nearly seven years, was… was—

“Killed in an apparent burglary gone wrong last night,” said one of the officers gravely. “A neighbour noticed the door had been clearly forced in, went inside to check, and found Miss Villa-Cortez’s body on the floor of her apartment.”

Amina’s head began to swim. She clutched the doorposts to keep her buckling knees from giving way completely beneath her. No. No. Vanessa couldn’t be dead. Amina still had to answer her text.

if you know you know ;)

☆ TAGLISTS. let me know if you want to be added/removed to any of them.

genera taglist:

@nicola-writes @dgwriteblr @the-orangeauthor @retrogayyde @quilloftheclouds @ashen-crest @writeblrfantasy @celestepens @stardustspiral @pepperdee @extra-magichours @avi-why @lefttigerobservation @chazzawrites @bardolatrycore @innocentlymacabre

andromeda trilogy taglist:

@bebewrites @nicola-writes @dgwriteblr @the-orangeauthor @retrogayyde @akindofmagictoo @quilloftheclouds @nora-theteawriter @ashen-crest @corpsepng @writeblrfantasy @chaylattes @toboldlywrite @celestepens @stardustspiral @pepperdee @cheerfulmelancholies @extra-magichours @writeouswriter @cilly-the-writer @lefttigerobservation @rose-bookblood @drowsy-quill @chazzawrites @cynic-and-chief @enchanted-lightning-aes @aesa

gemini heist taglist:

@florraisons @akindofmagictoo @cream-and-tea @nicola-writes @memento-morri-writes @antique-symbolism @rose-bookblood @afoolandathief @pepperdee @avi-why @zonnemaagd @chazzawrites @analogued @enchanted-lightning-aes @innocentlymacabre @kahvilahuhut @celestepens @cilly-the-writer @extra-magichours @retrogayyde

[darkened-storm]

Mayblade: Tree

1000 words for a belated prompt, but when the inspiration strikes you got to go with it. This is a messy draft, and it lacks some luster, but the idea is cute.

To her surprise, there was no one home at the Dojo. She reached for her phone and checked her group messages.

Tyson: needed fresh air for practice.

She texted back for clarification and a moment later her phone buzzed, the reply popping up in her notifications.

Becky: The riverbank, where else?

Even though it was spring a cool chill still hung in the air, so she grabbed her leather jacket and keys before heading out. The riverbank wasn’t far from the Dojo, so she walked the short distance through the park.

After Dickenson had reformed the BBA, he had donated a large sum of money to build a small beystadium in the park adjacent to the riverbank. It was a fitting tribute, Steph thought, to the importance this place held.

On the grass by the road, Becky was clearly utilising the opportunity to soak up the remaining rays of afternoon sun, with her AirPods stuffed in both ears, likely at full volume, and watching the goings on behind her Dolce and Gabbana sunglasses. Steph was pretty sure if she wasn’t standing in the way of the sunshine, her cousin wouldn’t have noticed her.

Reaching up to pluck an AirPod from her ear, Becky glowered at the interruption to her sun baking. “Oi!”

“What happened to practice?” Steph asked, only for Becky to shrug and point towards the river.

She could see Tyson battling with some of the younger kids, practicing with the new prototype Dragoon, while Max watched from the sidelines with Kenny, who had his laptop open and recording. The younger kids cheered each time Dragoon pulled off a fancy move.

“Don’t worry, I think you’ll find something to pass the time.”

Becky said cryptically, replacing the AirPod in her ear with one hand and pointing behind Steph with the other.

Curious, Steph turned to look back at the small cluster of cherry trees by the road.

Matt was sitting with his back resting up against an old cherry blossom tree. The cherry blossoms had come into bloom only days before the start of term, but were already beginning to wilt and petals littered the base of the tree.

His blonde hair shone golden in the afternoon sun. A notepad with music lines rested against his knees and he was scribbling notes and words with his left hand. He looked up as she approached and the ghost of a smile graced his features.

“Hey,” he said casually.

“Hi,” she replied, cringing inwardly at the unintended pitch of her voice.

“Your friend certainly knows how to draw a crowd, doesn’t he?” he remarked, the slightest hint of irritability in his voice.

She grinned. “Yeah, Tyson doesn’t really do much these days that goes unnoticed,” she said, almost apologetically.

“I know you don’t support Beyblading as a sport because of your grandfather, but my friends: They’re a good group, once you get to know them.”

He shrugged. “I know they are - I just think this is all a bit ridiculous. My grandfather bringing you all out here as though the only

She stood up and dusted off her jeans, dried pink petals falling like dust around her feet. She held out her hand to him. “Come on,” she said. “I want to show you something.”

For a moment, he stared at her hand reluctantly, then allowed her to gently lead him towards the crowd gathering at the riverbank.

“There are a lot of kids here,” he observed.

Steph nodded. “Kids have been beyblading at this riverbank for as long as I can remember,” she explained. “This is where I first met Max and Tyson four years ago. And that bridge over there,” she pointed downstream. “That’s where Tyson faced Kai for the first time - he lost of course.”

Back then, defeating the Blade Sharks seemed impossible. Instead they’d set themselves up to go overcome not only the Bladesharks, but every other team that came after them. Until the only obstacle that remained was themselves.

She led the way down to the river bank, pointing as she went.

“Tyson and Ray had their rematch here after the Championships,” she went on, then paused. “Come to think of it, I don’t remember who won - I just remember Hilary scolding them for trashing their beyblades when we had no parts to rebuild them.”

A marking on the largest cedar tree in the park caught her eye. Whimsically, she traced her fingers over the marks.

“They look like claw marks,” Matt observed.

She grinned. “Ray’s Tiger Claw move,” she explained. “Each beyblade has a special move, and Ray’s is tough to defend against. Most of the time, you don’t even see it coming.”

“Unless?” he asked when she paused again, unable to hide the excitement in her voice.

“Unless you’re me,” she laughed, feeling her cheeks flush suddenly. She didn’t know why, but she wanted him to know that she was a serious contender on this team - even if he didn’t give a damn about beyblading.

“You sound pretty confident there,” he observed.

“Is that a bad thing?” she asked, laughing nervously.

He shook his head, his blonde hair falling into his eyes. “I guess we’ll find out. ”

Her stomach did a flip a the thought of how much time they might have to spend together before he made that decision.

“Come on,” she said, tugging on his sleeve. “I want you to meet my friends.”

[caixxa]

Thank you @arsi-lehkonen for tagging me! ❤️ Let me warn you tho, I don't even know if I have 2, 3 or 4 wips because I haven't touched them in weeks, and they're very crude fragments of rough drafts, saved all over the place, and just before seeing this tag I had thought of deleting them all. So, you kept them saved for another 12 hours.

Rules: share seven wip lines/parts.

I'll share longer parts under the cut for the reasons told above. If I decide to let these ideas go, at least I've posted some of it out there.

Smut heavy, be warned. Tried to pick tame bits.

1. "No, not whipped cream," Roope said when they were planning for the show. "Cupcake frosting will hold up so much better and we can take it slow. Cream gets runny."

"Should the frosting be pink?" Sebastian suggested. "It's a Valentine's day special after all."

Roope snorted out a short laughter and shook his head, letting it hang slightly tilted to the side and shooting a mildly amused look at Sebastian.

"No, man," he said like stating the obvious, "Pink will look like you had a nasty skin condition going on, and nobody will believe that I would put my mouth on your dick with it. You could as well suggest chocolate."

(From a sequel to money shot where Sepe is still a Brind'Amour boy and Roope is an onlyfans star and ig hottie, and they're shooting a live scene for Roope's OF. Ao3 draft set to be deleted next Friday)

2. "Do you want to be fucked into the dirt? Like a filthy little animal? Or do you want me to get you back into the house and in bed?"

Sebastian looks up at Brent, bites his lip and releases it slowly, licking the bit, red mark moist and clean.

"Yes."

(From a pwp piece where Sepe takes a trip to the ranch. This one is a Tumblr draft bc I'm afraid of Google docs. I'd have to research shooting to make any progress with this bc I'm not in the mood for writing porn and the scene needs a setting and some build-up anyway)

.--

3. Sebastian smiles as he greets him, and his eyes linger in Rod’s, the gaze smoldering enough to slow down time the same way Sebastian can do with a puck around the goal.

A languid blink, like the kid's lids were heavy from wet dreams, it's like a slow motion deke that takes out the goalie, leaving the net gaping, offering itself to be taken.

The little pink tongue slips out to wet Sebastian's bottom lip as he nods his greeting, "Hi, Roddy. How're you tonight?"

"Oh, I'm fine if you're fine. You're fine, right?"

"Sure. I'm fine. Prepared and hungry."

"Hungry sounds good."

Sebastian lets a rippling smile flash on his lips. He stops right by Rod’s side and brushes the sleeve of his jacket lightly with his knuckles.

"So hungry," he says, lowering his voice and locking his eyes in his coach's. "Starving." He pauses, further lowering his voice until it's a soft whisper. "Desperate."

(Coach x player smut, working title Game Day Suits might as well be the summary)

--

4. "You want to throw me in as a bait for Burnzie?" Sebastian chuckled and scratched the back of his head before sticking his tongue out from the corner of his mouth and running it over his upper lip. "Not gonna lie, that sounds hella hot."

(A super messy pwp that might be a gangbang or tons of tension or may just become a build-up for the ranch fic. Anyway, I found a pun in a Tumblr text post very inspiring and use it as a working title: call him jesus the way i make him bred and whine)

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5. Pekka wakes up to a bunch of notifications on his phone screen: three missed video calls, two from Juuse, one from Sebastian. In addition to that, his inbox is flooded with video messages.

(All Stars '22 where S and Juuse promoted beverages, this is all I have written for the idea @hard4softthings gave me as an independent sequel to Summer Kisses)

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6. Teemu wandered in wearing a patterned silk robe.

"Playboy night," Trevor said from the corner of his mouth.

Jamie would learn in a moment that Playboy night meant bunnies.

(From my eternity project where Mr Selanne hosts sex parties, pimping out young guys as treats for his friends and associates, this is probably the AU version)

7. “Of course. That's what they're here for. I keep a petting zoo, not an exhibition! It isn't look, don't touch. Whatever you can look, you can touch, too,” Teemu grins.

(From a later part of the prev draft)

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If you read this far, thank you for your interest! As I said, these are this long for reasons.

Tagging @hard4softthings @isconnormcdavidok @aleksrothis and @thosedaysthatwill in case you have something you'd like to share!