#i mean i do have words. plenty. i wrote them all down outside of this post and i think ill format my thoughts here properly another time

[charrfie]

Read Laika No Hoshi and sobbed my fucking eyes out

[erisweekofficial]

We're thrilled to shine a light on @zenkindoflove!!! Amanda is an absolute gem in the Elucien fandom AND Eris fandom and has also blessed us with Alexius, her incredible OC for her Eris x OC fics.

Alexius stands out as one of the few male OCs in the community, and the dynamic between him and Eris is nothing short of captivating. Think forced proximity, delicious yearning, witty banter, political intrigue, and all the tension you could dream of. You can see them in both Summer Heat (which has Elucien) and Pull Me in Deeper, which... y'all you gotta read this asap😍🤭🥵 Also the mods are begging you to read Taste of You, a short and delightfully smutty one shot.

And PLEASE admire this amazing art of Alexius and Eris!

Read more to learn about how @zenkindoflove was inspired to create content about Eris AND her extremely helpful tips for writing content about him. (We're taking notes)

What inspired you to start creating content about Eris?  I became curious about writing Eris after he was featured in some of my Elucien fics. When I started my multichapter Elucien fic Summer Heat, I decided that I would give him a male love interest in that fic and create an OC - which ended up being Alexius who you see featured in all of my Eris work. I originally intended for it to be a background relationship, but I decided to experiment and write the scene of their first meeting (a very smutty scene) just to do some character exploration. I didn’t intend to include it in the fic, but then once I wrote it, I knew that it was something special and Eris x Alexius became a true B storyline in that fic with a fully fleshed out love story. After that, I wanted to expand and write fics that focused on them which I've written several now and more to come for Eris Week! It's a bit niche. Hardly anyone writes Eris x Male OC but I'm obsessed now.

What's your favorite piece you've created featuring Eris and why? 

That would be my Eris x Alexius multichapter fic - Pull Me in Deeper. I love it because it was a way for me to explore Eris’ character when he is out of the watchful eye of his father and others in Prythian. It’s also just a fun action/adventure/romance story and I got to explore more lore and character building for my OC Alexius as well. Alexius was designed to be, in my opinion, the perfect person for Eris and that means often standing in contrast to a lot of his personality traits and pushing him outside of his comfort zone. So it was an incredibly fun dynamic to explore. And it’s two gay men who are on a quest to find out (*spoilers*) if unicorns exist XD.

How do you approach writing dialogue for Eris? 

I tend to lean into Eris being more careful with his words - so he is sharp, concise, and efficient in his word choice. Depending on who he’s sharing a scene with and the context, he can be severe and short or he can be long-winded and eloquent. And of course, he has banter and jabs a plenty. So I try to balance all those sides of him depending on the context.

Do you have any advice for other creators wanting to make Eris content? 

Eris inhabits a unique space in canon where he is truly a free agent when it comes to relationships. So, I would recommend if you want to write romances with Eris to lean into self-indulgence and write the pairing/story you really want to tell and try to let go of what you think will be popular. And if that ends up being Eris x OC rather than a canon character, know that it can actually be such a rewarding experience even if you don’t have a built in audience. Creating an OC to pair with Eris has been immensely fun and has broadened my creativity. Eris is a complex, interesting character with so many layers and building someone to fit him and find out what is underneath all of those layers can lead you down quite an obsessive path. But a fun one. 

Please give us a name for one of Eris’s Brothers

Kian. He is the third oldest and is more of a scholarly type. Now that second brother Conan is dead, he is next in line after Eris.

Please give us a name for one of Eris's Dogs.

Lithia. She just had puppies in PMID and Eris is worried about her. 

[darling-i-read-it]

Barbecue

Phillip Graves x fem!reader

Word Count: 2.2k 

Warnings: general sexual insinuations, literally tooth aching fluff i love him so much it hurts, drinking, guys being dudes

Author’s Note: i literally swore to myself i would write this, the plotless fluff needed to happen and it needed to happen now frankly. Also I just made up a bunch of names for the shadows!

I wrote this as a technical part 2 to Shower Before Bed but it’s not necessary reading! Just like. Made sense in my head lol. 

Summary: Literally just a get together with the Shadows at Phil and his ladies house 

Genre: fluff 

Song: Maps by Yeah Yeah Yeahs 

I don’t own these characters. They belong to author/director/creator

(not my gif)

“Babe, where's the propane?!” 

“Under the grill?”

“It’s not there!” 

“I don’t use that grill Phil!” 

You were inside the kitchen, grabbing all the side plates you bought from the store. Phil could make a mean steak but he wasn’t really sure how to do the side things. Lucky for you, buying chips and various salads was easy. You could give him hefty lifting. 

He walked in through the sliding glass door. 

“I feel like it’s in here,” he grumbled. 

“Then you are welcome to look handsome,” you mumbled, grabbing a couple bowls. He walked around you, opening under the sink. You knew it wasn’t there but you let him look anyway. 

After a very enthusiastic and slow to rise morning, Phil got right into preparing for guests. You had some people around sporadically but never that many. He had basically invited the entire squad over. 

“Did you try the garage?” 

“I did not.” He turned on his heels. He made it barely to the garage door down the hall when he turned back around. He walked back towards you in the kitchen. You raised an eyebrow at him. 

“Yeah?” 

“It’s outside. I just remembered.” 

“Is it under the grill?”

“It’s not under the grill,” he said and walked back through the sliding glass door. You rolled your eyes. You waited a bit, pouring some chips into a bowl. 

“Hey Phil?”

“It’s under the grill.” You nodded slowly. You figured. You grabbed the bowls and brought them outside. The sun had risen high in the sky. A perfect day. Not too hot, not too cold. You put the bowls down on the table and turned to him. He was leaning over the grill. 

The shirt he was wearing was tight around his arms. Your eyes scanned down his arms, following the veins down to his hands. You walked up behind him. He stood up all the way, almost bumping into you. 

“What’re you doin darlin?” he questioned. You wrapped your arms around his waist. He chuckled. Your face was scrunched up into a smile as you put your hand on top of his. You lifted his hand in front of his face. 

“You have such prominent veins,” you whispered, bewildered. 

“Baby,” he breathed. 

You traced down his arm. You placed your chin on his shoulder and leaned your head against his. Your touch was just a mere flutter. He could barely feel it, a tickle on his skin. You smiled cheekily. 

“Never noticed before,” you muttered and moved away. That was the lie to end all lies. You had noticed plenty of times. He groaned when your touch left him completely. 

“You’re gonna be the death of me.”

“If all goes well!” 

There was a knock on the door, raspy and aggressive. He turned on his heels. 

“I got it,” you called, going back into the house. You weaved through the house to the front door. 

Wes was on the other side. A taller member of Phil’s squad, lanky and apparently one of the best sharpshooters of all time. You smiled at the sight of him holding a tin of potato salad. 

“Wes!” 

“Oh if it isn’t lil miss Graves!” He teased. You smiled, moving aside to help him in. 

“Phil’s in the back starting to cook. You should probably go teach him how to do that.” 

“I can’t get a word through to that man, you know it.” You laughed, watching him go. It felt odd to have other people in your perfectly tuned home. It wasn’t bad. Just different. You walked onto the front porch, putting up the sign you had made that read; Come around the house!

You would get tired of walking through the house and you had no interest in letting bugs in through a propped front door. 

-

About an hour later, the backyard was packed. Music had started to play, though you weren’t sure where it was coming from. The grill was surrounded by men, there were discarded beer cans on the patio. 

“I did not say that,” Robbie muttered. He was a large man with tattoos, a beard on his face. 

“You did!” John called. “I thought I was gonna have to call it in but you just told the fucking mafia you were unarmed.”

“I wasn’t unarmed though,” Robbie countered. 

“Yeah no, I know that.” Your laughter melded into theirs. You were sitting with a couple of the guys around an unlit bonfire. “I thought they were gonna shoot you for being dumb.” 

“Wait, this was the Baikal job?” you questioned. 

“I thought it was Petersberg,” Robbie mumbled, lost in thought. 

“It was definitely Baikal,” John argued. 

“Oh yeah, because we were by that lake. I remem...wait, isn't that classified?” Your eyes went wide at the information and you grabbed the beer can off the table. Their eyes floated to you in bewilderment. 

“I coerced him,” you said, trying to salvage it. “Or something. Might’ve been pillowtalk.” 

“Oh God girl,” Robbie muttered. “You’re in for it. They’re gonna kidnap you for information instead of us!” 

“No ones getting kidnapped.” Phil approached behind you, his words floating above everyone else's. He sat down beside you on the porch couch. It smushed you to the side because there was barely enough room for two. You didn’t mind. He had gained a cowboy hat since you saw him last. He put his arm over the wicker back, rubbing circles into your shoulders. He loved to be touching you, especially in a place with a bunch of other guys. He had no qualms about having a woman in the Shadow Company but they tended to not wanna come to extracurricular activities. You couldn’t blame them. 

“Your girl knows about Baikal,” Robbie said. A couple other guys had joined the small circle. Phil grimaced. 

“She’s an honest one isn’t she?” He patted your back. You rolled your eyes. You two hardly had enough chairs for everyone. Wes sat down on the couch arm. “And I definitely remember telling her,” he lied. Everyone chuckled. 

“Oh my God Wes, sit here,” you said, getting up. 

“I am not about to kick a lady out of her seat,” Wes persisted. You were already standing. 

“I’ve got the best seat in the house, don’t worry,” you promised. He gave you a look, hesitantly sliding into the spot you had been sitting in. 

“What’s that?” he questioned. Phil was mid sentence when you sat on his lap. He let out a soft surprised sigh. There were a couple of ‘ooo’s’ from the onlookers but you had known most of them for years and couldn’t care less. Phil put an arm around you to keep you steady. You brought your legs up over the couch side to get comfortable. 

“What were you saying?” you questioned, rejoining the main conversation. 

“I was saying that you like to tell everyone confidential information and it’s a security risk,” he teased. You rolled your eyes. 

“At least she’s cute,” Robbie argued. Phil squeezed his grip on you. 

“Makes everything easy,” he assured his friends. You rolled your eyes. 

“Where’d you get the hat?” you asked. 

“Joey brought it for me. House warming gift.”

“We’ve lived here since June.” 

“And he hasn’t been over since then,” he argued. “What, does it look bad?” You shook your head, a laugh sputtering from your lips. 

“You look handsome.” You grabbed the hat from his head and put it atop yours, leaning into his chest. That earned a couple more ‘ooo’s’ from your onlookers. “What, he does!” you argued. 

“No, not that darlin,” Phil grumbled, though his voice was lighter than he likely intended. 

“Your man there is a cowboy. Believes in all the rules,” John explained. Joey peaked his head out from behind him as you starred with wide confused eyes. 

“There are rules that come with a cowboy hat?” you snorted. 

“If a girl takes a hat from a cowboy and puts it on her own head then…well she has to ride the cowboy,” Joey said. That caused more commotion. Your cheeks flushed but you tried to own it as best you could. You liked being so linked to Phil that it was the source of conversations. He was rubbing your back, hand toying at the hem of your shirt. 

“Oh darn,” you joked. You turned to face Phil completely. “You believe in that bullshit?” 

“Yes ma’am,” he explained. “It’s strict.” Your eyes were locked in a careful intimacy. You could’ve taken him right there. 

“Sounds like we have dessert plans then. I’ve gotta start kicking you boys out early!” Chuckles followed from your words. 

The overlapped conversations continued. You chimed in when you could but mostly you listened. Phil held you safely in his arms, drinking his beer with his free hand. He did most of the talking, making crude jokes about battle and telling stories you only half understood. He didn’t tell you to leave even when you were sure his legs had fallen asleep underneath you. 

The sun set. Someone started the bonfire. The conversation continued. Beers were passed around. Jokes were told. Your eyes started to droop. People started to leave around 11, funneling back to their own homes. 

It was around then you finally stood. 

“Thanks for being my chair,” you said to Phil as you slid off of him. He let out a groan, stretching out his legs. 

“Don’t say I never make sacrifices for you.” You extended your hand to help him up. You pulled him aggressively and he caught himself by grabbing your hips. The reaction was natural. He was so close and he smelled like a bonfire.

“Those steaks were fire boss,” someone said. He let go of you to mingle. 

“It was nice to see you again,” Robbie called towards you. 

“You too. Y’all are welcome anytime. Well, not anytime. Call first.” A gentle, tired chuckle. You walked people to the front door. 

Before you knew it, the house was empty again. Save for Phil, of course. When the last Shadow left you shut the door behind him with triumph, locking it and then turning on the security system beside the door. 

You shuffled out back. Phil was picking up beer cans. 

“I’m exhausted,” he said with a light laugh. 

“Me too,” you admitted. You had gotten tired a half hour ago. “It was nice to see and meet everyone though. I’m glad you’ve got so many good guys looking after you.” You lazily approached him. He tossed the beer cans in the recycle bin and wrapped his arms around you happily. His cowboy hat had returned to his head. 

“They’re good men.” 

“I know,” you hummed. You cupped his face. It was torment being around him so long and not being able to kiss him silly. You took the opportunity now, slipping your lips onto his. He responded sleepily, kissing you like it was breathing. 

“I love you,” he muttered against your lips. 

“I love you too Phil,” you whispered. “We can clean this up tomorrow. I’ve gotta crash soon or else I’ll fall into the fire embers.” He held your hip tighter.

“Not on my watch.”

“I know. Never on your watch.” You made an effort to leave his grip but it just tightened. 

“I like hanging out with them,” he started. His voice was far away. The fatigue had gotten to him which made his words loopier. Could also have been the alcohol. “But I don’t like the way some of em look at you.” 

“They’re all nice to me,” you said, titling your head in confusion. You hadn’t gotten weird vibes all night. 

“Sometimes I catch em staring too long. I don’t like it.” You hummed in response. “Gouge their eyes out then.” 

“For you? Anything.” He kissed you again. You brushed his hair back out of his face. 

“It’s bed time for you baby.” He nodded once. 

“Love you.” 

“Love you too. C’mon.” You looped your arm around his as you started to walk inside.

“That cowboy thing is a rule you know. They weren’t fuckin with you.” 

“I’ll make it up to you when we’re not exhausted.” 

“Promise?”

“Promise.” His low hum sealed the deal. You took the hat off his head as you walked into the bedroom, tossing it onto the dresser. Even as you went to get clothes to sleep in, his hands remained on you. You traced his veins with your thumb. This is what being content feels like, you thought. This. 

[stardustsides]

we’ll all be here forever

content warnings: references to underage drinking, general anxiety about going away to college

pairings: romantic logicality

word count: 1357

surprise, a lil logicality oneshot i wrote a few months ago but never posted. enjoy !!!

~

“I thought I might find you here.”

Patton glanced up from his spot on his attic bedroom floor. He was sitting cross-legged on his shag carpet he’s had since childhood, the dying light from outside pooling around him soft as honey, yearbook open in his lap. The circular window above his head was cracked open, letting the early summer air mingle with the muted sounds of the graduation party in the backyard.

Logan stood in the doorway, wearing a red Harvard t-shirt and looking unsure of himself. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt you—“

“Not at all,” Patton replied, patting the spot beside him. “Come sit.”

After a moment, he did, stooping a bit to fit inside. Logan had had a major growth spurt back in the summer before junior year, and now could no longer stand at his full height in Patton’s bedroom without hitting his head on the slanted ceilings. He folded his limbs in carefully and sat next to him.

Once, Patton might have felt the need to grin at Logan, to wipe every trace of melancholy from his expression and eagerly fill the silence between them. But the silence was comfortable, and Patton was lately finding that around Logan, he had to pretend less and less. And so for a little while, the two flicked through the yearbook together, quietly laughing to themselves when a particularly bad picture of one of their friends came up, and recounting the memories of the past year. Of the past four.

“Aww,” Patton said suddenly, pointing to the two-page spread made for the annual school musical. “Roman was so good in that. He made me cry.”

Logan glanced at him, his mouth twisting into a wry smile. “It was Mamma Mia.”

Patton swatted him on the arm. “Mamma Mia has serious moments! I bet plenty of people teared up during ‘Slipping Through my Fingers’!”

Logan snorted, turning his attention back to the book. “Oh, there’s Janus at the mock trial.”

“He did so good!”

“He did. Though he is going to law school after college, so I doubt that his opponents were thrilled about facing off with him.”

Patton fell silent again, the statement settling over him like a weighted blanket. The pictures on the photo wall above his desk fluttered in the light breeze. He wanted to curl up beneath it and let this moment live forever.

“…Patton,” Logan asked carefully. “What’s wrong? Why aren’t you down at the party?”

“I could ask you the same thing, Mr. Harvard-man,” Patton replied, but it didn’t come out as playful as he had hoped. The six of them—their tight-knit friend group since freshman year—had been planning the joint graduation party since they had gotten back from winter break. It had been decided that they would hold it at Patton’s house, because his house—which was actually a repurposed barn—had the biggest backyard. The others had come over at the crack of dawn to set up; now, fairy lights adorned the backyard, and streamers the colors of every college they had chosen cascaded around the perimeter.

It looked lovely, and yet as soon as the first guests had trickled in, Patton found that he just wanted to be alone.

Logan looked at him, a little furrow between his brows. Patton had often thought of that little furrow: if Logan knew it was there, what it would be like to press his thumb to it and smooth it out. He pushed those thoughts down, as he had gotten skilled at doing.

At last, he sighed. “I guess it’s just hitting me. That we’re all leaving.”

“…ah.”

“Yeah.”

Another bout of silence, punctuated by the faint sound of Remus beating Roman in a game of cornhole and crowing about his victory.

“You really don’t need to worry, Lo,” Patton said softly, offering him a wan smile. “I’ll be okay. Go down and enjoy the party.”

“You know that I have never been a party person.”

“You might be next year. I hear Harvard parties get crazy.”

“All the more reason for me not to go.”

“Yeah, well.” Patton sighed. “Who knows what next year will be like. Maybe we’ll all be different by then. We already are.”

A few weeks ago, they had rented a mountain house for a weekend, as per the “senior week” tradition. Roman had managed to smuggle a few boxes of hard seltzers and a bottle of vodka, and they had spent their Saturday night in various stages of drunkenness. It had all felt very grown up.

“Nothing has to change,” Logan started uncertainly.

“Logan,” he replied. “It already is.”

“That doesn’t mean that we won’t all still be close.”

“I know. But sometimes I wish that we could stop time, just for a little while.”

Another silence settled over them like a fresh layer of snow. Patton was thinking of what to say, of how to apologize for ruining the moment, when he felt Logan’s hand over his. He looked up in surprise—Logan was staring straight ahead, a muscle feathering in his jaw, as if he was trying to decide whether or not to speak.

Patton put his other hand on top of Logan’s and squeezed.

For a suspended moment, Patton’s world narrowed: the distant chatter outside, the early summer breeze, Logan’s hand between his, Logan’s breathing. He felt warm from the inside out, and all of his troubles suddenly seemed so very far away.

“Patton,” Logan began haltingly. “I—you know that I would never—that is, I could never—I could never let myself grow apart from you?”

Patton looked at him. Logan looked vaguely frustrated with himself, his cheeks daylily pink. He pushed his glasses further up his nose.

“I know,” Patton replied softly. “Me neither.”

Logan nodded faintly. “Good,” he said, almost to himself.

For a moment, Patton thought that that was it, and the comfortable silence would return. He turned his gaze back toward the window.

“Patton,” Logan said again, his voice taking on a strange timbre.

Patton looked at him again, and their eyes met. He felt a zing of something go down his spine, thrilling and terrifying. He suddenly had the distinct feeling of standing on the precipice of some great unknown, teetering precariously on the edge.

Logan, for the first time Patton could ever remember, was completely lost for words. He opened his mouth and closed it again, a short, nervous breath escaping him.

And then Patton leaned forward and kissed him.

Logan’s lips were slightly chapped, and he tasted a hint of vanilla frosting from the massive sheet cake downstairs; it was brief yet lingering, and when Patton drew back, Logan’s eyes looked starry behind his glasses.

And before Patton could even open his mouth to speak, Logan took his face in his hands and kissed him again, sweet and awkward and achingly tender. Their glasses clinked together. Patton could feel Logan’s nervous heartbeat through his chest, thumping in tandem with his own.

It felt like a puzzle piece had slid into place.

When Logan pulled away, there was a brief, suspended moment of pure wonder as they stared at each other. And then Patton started giggling. He felt giddy, like he was a can of soda that had been shaken and was now bubbling up everywhere. He was sparkling, fizzy.

Logan cracked a grin, shy and bashful but dazzling, and Patton’s heart felt so full.

“So,” he said, giggling.

“So.” Logan replied.

“Did I ever tell you you look cute in red?” Patton grinned, nodding at Logan’s Harvard shirt. Logan’s flush deepened.

“I don’t believe so.”

“I guess I better tell you more often, then.”

“I suppose you should.”

Later, Roman would burst into the room, reprimands about ditching the party dying on his tongue when he sees their joined hands. Later, they would have to endure endless teasing and scrutiny from their friends, various ‘I called it’-s and ‘I told you so’-s. Later, they would officially call themselves boyfriends, the word thrilling and new.

But for now, on the floor of his attic bedroom, Logan’s hand in his, Patton felt time stretch before him, golden and bright, and he found that he wasn’t scared at all.

[iscopeee]

wrote a thing for the first time in years because wreck it ralph randomly implanted itself in my brain big time and i had to get it out or ill explode so i feverishly wrote this in one night YIPPEE

1997.

That was the year printed on the garishly coloured calendar hung proudly on the arcade’s wall. Litwak had hung it there mere hours ago before shutting down the arcade early to run off and go enjoy the New Year’s festivities, leaving the inhabitants plenty of time for celebrations of their own. Turbo could hear their cheerful voices now, echoing through the arcade - they were probably all gathered at Tapper’s or wherever, not that it mattered. Turbo had no interest in joining even if he were able - celebrating the passage of time felt pointless to him with how long he had spent in this purgatory of his own making.

It had been 10 years since his perfect life had been ruined. A whole decade since everything he had worked for had been ripped away. Now he was little more than a ghost with no game to call home, hiding in the shadows to avoid detection. He knew no one would forgive him for what he had done, and some of them would probably try to kill him if they found him. It was easier to lie low.

Turbo gripped the cloak and pulled it tighter around his shoulders. His cloak - black and white checkered, fashioned from the finishing flag from his home game. It wasn’t much for a disguise, but it at least bought him a few seconds to slip away without being recognised whenever he was spotted. He couldn’t help but smirk whenever he overheard talk of the “checkered spectre” when hiding behind the vending machines in game central station. It felt good to have his name on people’s minds, even under a false identity - though not as good as it felt to hear them whisper his true name under hushed tones. 

Turbo ran the flag’s fabric between his thumb and forefinger. Aside from himself, it was the only physical reminder he had of his glory days in TurboTime. The rest was destroyed, gone forever - not that he missed it. He didn’t miss his scowling opponents - those obnoxious twins, the only thing standing between him and his trophy. He didn’t miss the mind-numbing monotony of the circular track, the gravelly ear-splitting growl of his kart’s engine, not a thing - all he missed was the glory of winning, the warm glow of admiration, the beauty of the spotlight. Nothing else mattered. 

So then why did he feel such a pang in his chest as he stared down at the monochrome fabric?

Turbo scoffed and shook his head, looking back up at the calendar. He was perched on one of the girders in the Donkey Kong cabinet, his legs dangling off the side into the void below. This was one of the only vantage points he could use to see outside without being spotted by the others. Donkey Kong only had three inhabitants - Mario, Pauline, and of course the ape himself - meaning Turbo was often lucky enough to find the place completely deserted at closing time as the trio left to go do whatever the hell it is they do with their time.

On the calendar, the 7th of January was circled in red marker, with the words “new games!” barely visible written inside. Turbo squinted and leaned forward a little, looking for more information. A small poster hung next to the calendar, advertising the new games Litwak had ordered. Turbo’s eyes were instantly drawn to one particular listing. Sugar Rush. A racing game. Turbo’s lifecode. The gears in his mind instantly began to turn. 

Of course, multiple times in the past 10 years he had already considered jumping into someone else’s game long-term. It would certainly be preferable to creeping around in the background alone, with no one around to admire his talent. But that was the thing - his talent was racing. If he tried to blend in to any other type of game, he’d stick out like a sore thumb - and the other characters in the game would know he didn’t belong there. After TurboTime and Roadblasters were pulled, Mr. Litwak was oddly hesitant to order in any new racing games - the arcade had been completely devoid of them for 10 years now. He had always been a superstitious guy; maybe two racing games breaking at once drove him away from them. Until now.

A grin uncontrollably crawled across Turbo’s face, his hands balling into fists as he clenched his cloak. Yes. Yes, this had to work. It must work. Sugar Rush was a brand new game - it would be switched on for the very first time when it arrived at Litwak’s. The game’s denizens would be completely clueless, and would believe anything he told them - after all, they were quite literally born yesterday. It would be so easy to just make himself at home - make himself the star. It wouldn’t be hard to do at all. He had a trick for that.

In his time hiding in the background, Turbo had taught himself to manipulate a game’s code. It was shockingly simple. Each and every game had a control room hidden away somewhere, which could be used to edit the very code that makes up the game’s reality. All Turbo had to do was find the control room as soon as possible after the game was plugged in, and it would be all too easy to slot himself in as though he had been there all along. He could change his appearance, his name, his voice, everything to make him fit right in. But he wouldn’t be just any racer - of course not. That wouldn’t be good enough. He had to make himself the most important character in the game. A king.

Turbo was uncontrollably shaking at this point, bent over, manic chuckles escaping him and echoing through the empty game. One week. One more blasted week.

All he had to do was wait.

[skelliko]

Yoo could u do this? If u want to ofc🫡 kazutora x fem reader who's apart of walhalla (kind of like from the last thing u wrote) but she's more quiet and keeps to herself. But when she IS talking w the others she has like the older sister type attitude. Passive, speaks with sarcasm and can grill someone with a single sentence.

So the scenario I have in mind was they first met in like a 'kiyoko and Tanaka' type way from haikyuu? If u don't know it's on yt ^^. Sorry if the request is long😭 if u don't want to do this then it's fine!! And sorry since this is like, the second thing u wrote ab the reader being in Walhalla,

a/n: don't worry about it, I wouldn't consider it to be the same thing since I've made plenty of differences between the two. I went with what you requested but sorry if some things aren't how you pictured/ wanted half way through ♡

Kazutora hanemiya |°- first meet + hard to get

kazutora having the number 3 as a title means some sort of recognition and responsibility, but half the time he's just there yk. chilling by a wall and waiting for time to gradually get a move on, got things to do but can't exactly do them now, there's always some sort of waiting game but a game that always makes everyone yawn.

bored and tired out of his mind with only a few thoughts to keep his mind busy to avoid getting agitated. all moments before feeling a small gush of air from his left side like someone has rushed to get here. it was hard to ignore what you see at the corner of your eye so just out of instinct he turned his head slightly to eye in that very direction to see who had just came in.

his whole thought process staged, his mind instantly paused, eyes wide open, and his breath on hold. the gush of air that he felt before now holds some emotions, immediately thinking that the air is probably the closest he'll ever come contact with you physically.

'shes beautiful...'

the question of 'what is a girl doing in walhalla?' didn't even come across him, instead it was how beautiful you are. he was captivated and wanted to say something, anything to you but when he opened his mouth to speak it was then that you looked over at him feeling his eyes on you which caused his sole to evaporate leaving him standing like a deer at headlights.

"I- uh..." kazutora hanemiya, all shy and nervous. it certainly was a sight to see considering that a few guys part of the gang were hiding their smiles and muffling their laughter seeing him in this state. if kazutora saw them laughing they'd definitely lose a few front teeth, that way they'll never end up smiling.

he was mainly nervous because no one has ever made his heart beat faster than an adrenaline rush, so this whole feeling was new and unusual.

though just after you moved your eyes away from him he swallowed down his salvia and finally spoke up making your attention back onto him "you're pretty" he thought a lot but at the same time he didn't.

a faint smile curled up on your lips after hearing his words "thank you" any compliment is nice to have but was this him making moves on you? a random guy to stare at you and call you pretty is honestly quite flattering but there's no need to be seen easy especially being around with so many other guys, don't need them thinking they can do the same.

over time after that small encounter, kazutora managed to learn a few things about you from other people, not a whole lot but enough for him to understand why you're here. your cousin is somewhere within walhalla and it wasn't hard to spot him due to kazu admiring you from afar and seeing who you talk to. not in a stalker way but just out of curiosity.

however before, you'd repeatedly and casually hang around the hideout with your cousin, most of the time outside of the building but after sometime someone ended up welcoming you in, Hanma actually, your interaction with him wasn't exactly sturdy in the beginning but because of that it made him want you to join even more. when your around you seem get people's attention in a sense of making them feel calm, precisely like an older sister. one that most probably wished to have but dont.

your quite closed off despite having a fair bit of attention, but that doesn't mean you take advantage of that nor do you actually stay quiet. if someone were to come up to you and strike a conversation you'll happily respond. passive with almost anyone which makes you to be fairly approachable and comfortable to be around with. making sarcastic comments here and there without thinking which then results in some people to return the attitude, but in the end it creates something to find joy in. it's like you can make friends instantly here without trying.

but despite that you still manage to hold up a small barrier. if anyone even remotely annoys you or tries to get a bad reaction out of you they'll get the reaction, but it'll be them that will shuffle over to hide by a corner and have a bleeding wound from the words you're able to inflict on them, your a natural at it and you don't even need to raise your voice to get your point across. some guy was being sexist towards you and that was the last time he ever dared to look at you. which is exactly what everyone around likes about you. kazutora especially.

when you're quiet kazu admires, when you speak he listens. he loves your mental strength and it's certainly something that everyone needs to be taught.

but an older sister always hides her true intentions, just gotta look out for a pattern and soon enough you'll be able to hold her heart like no one else can just because you were able to understand her. sometimes being the oldest always means to end up in some sort of battle, majority of the time it's emotional but keeping too much inside can cause the jar to explode making the shards to hit those who you don't mean to hurt.

sure she's not actually a sister of anyone in Walhalla, but in order for her to feel welcomed they ended up acting like she was one. some even ended up calling her 'big sis'. and so she adopted that sweet role. though only to those who are constantly at the hideout and participate in conversation, essentially only to those that like her.

the first few days after noticing your presence in walhalla he always went stiff in the shoulders, afraid to do something stupid that will make you hide away from him. even when getting caught staring at you he always tried to play it off by looking behind you or simply look away and pretend nothing happened.

but after another few set of days, he grew comfortable. maybe a little too comfortable because now whenever you catch him staring he just holds a smile and keeps looking at you with no shame until he chooses to look away and pretend to carry on with whatever he was doing before, even though he wasn't doing anything before.

he'd join some of your conversations and even tried to get a little close to your cousin, though the two dont exactly kick off very well so he gave that up almost instantly, he didn't want to argue with him and lose his chance with you. normally he wouldn't do that for anyone so It was even a bit of a shocker for kazu himself when half way through he realised 'wait tf am I doing?' and it certainly didn't go under looked by certain other members.

do you know about his interest in you? probably, maybe... definitely. if others can see it then you do too, you're not dumb like that plus others pointed it out for you under hushed voices. just one chance wouldn't hurt, but only if he actually comes forwards to it first. you attract, not chace.

"surprised that you managed to get so many warm up to you so quickly"

you jumped a little upon hearing a voice right over your shoulder but without turning around you instantly recognised who that voice belongs to. kazutora.

"that's a good thing right?" now meeting his eyes but also taking a step backwards, he sure knows how to invade personal space.

"of course it is, though you've made my guys sappy, I'm afraid they'll go weak" he wasn't fully serious... maybe just a little but he held a teasing tone and his whole self seemed completely different compared to when you both first interacted. from being stunned and staggering to now going with the flow and flourishing. he wasn't always gonna stay shy.

"oh is that so? well I'm sure you'll be able to carry everyone out since I presume you haven't" the same little smile from when they met began to curl her lips. there's no way that anyone can say that kazu hasn't become somewhat soft when it comes down to y/n, and here he is trying be different compared to other guys.

"didn't know you had that much confidence in me" matching your energy. he's aware of what you're hinting at but currently talking with you, one on one, is making him not give a damn. you've talked before but they were always around others. all he wants in this moment is you and if it means to be called sappy then sure.

"nah not really, just expectations" ouch

it was all build up so that kazutora can get comfortable and ask the one question that he had stored in his mind.

"so I was thinking, what if we were to go out? just us two"

"what if?" she repeated, purposely focusing on those two words to catch and test him out, make him say it properly.

"well you know what I mean"

"I'm afraid I don't"

she's getting to him, you could tell from the way he looked off to the side and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, can't tell if he's annoyed or if the nervousness is finally catching up to him, confidence always has a limit especially when you're up against someone with a smart mouth. "do you want to hang out?... just us two" there it is.

"hmm, depends what we'd do"

"we can do anything that you like"

it sure wasn't gonna be easy for him, heck no. have a little play around and if he really did want to take you out then he was gonna have to try harder than that and earn it. you have standards and don't go for the first person.

the first time you rejected his offer he thought you were kidding and trying to joke around but when you repeated your answer only then did he walk away from you. but after a few days of exchanging eye contact with each other he seemed to finally be caught on with what you were doing. playing hard to get, a bit infuriating but considering the way how kazu had asked and how most seem be fond of you there would be no reason not to play like that.

the second time he casually put an arm over your shoulders and acted it out like you two were good friends, and this time when he asked he did it right the first time, but even then you still declined.

you're making it hard for him, got him stressing, and turning. someone give this boy some help because currently it seems unhealthy for him to feel like this. just something about you got him latched on and it's only self respect thats keeping him away from begging.

though it doesn't mean that some progress hasn't been made between you two throughout the time. cause then he wouldn't have asked the third time.

third time's the charm right? it's what everyone says and half the time it's not all that true, but for some it is. so when kazutora finally asked you out again and heard your accepting words it was like a lock finally opening after finding the right key. satisfaction and pride.

 ♡----

[quick-catton]

give me all ur felix and ollie and cattonquick head-canons plz can be nsft if u wish go crazy

ANON YOU LEFT THIS ASK OVER A MONTH AGO. I AM SO SORRY.

i've been waiting to answer it until i had a good list compiled/until i had a better grasp on their characters, and honestly most of these are fairly vague since i wrote them down before we all started going insane on tumblr and digging deep into their psyches LOL but. here are some of my thoughts that i've jotted down over the past month <3

sfw:

felix is a big ol’ scaredy cat, we see that in the film. oliver finds it so incredibly endearing that this big 6’5 man has to sleep with a night light and is terrified of scary films despite adoring halloween and taking the holiday so seriously. oliver definitely loves picking scary movies on the nights where it’s his turn to choose because he loves feeling like a protector when felix is hiding his face, burying himself in the crook of his arm, clinging to him and gasping at every jumpscare. and even though felix pretends to hate it, he doesn’t actually mind because he likes getting to feel small sometimes, having an excuse to press up against ollie.

felix is a little yapper, i just know it. that mfer does notttt stop talking somedays. if he has a thought, oliver is going to hear it. if he’s bored, he’s going to make it everyone else’s problem. as a little gremlin adhd–er, i lean towards attributing it to untreated adhd, but it's also just such a felix thing. of course oliver finds it endearing, but sometimes it drives him up the absolute wall; luckily for him, there are plenty of ways to shut felix up and/or occupy his mouth instead!

oliver is more of a show than tell person, valuing being able to do acts of service for felix, or to gift him things, make him feel good, happy, whatever. i think it makes sense, since he's more reserved and quiet. felix is more of a tell than show guy, always complimenting and speaking unfiltered and dropping words of affirmation left and right, and they balance each other out in that regard.

PET! NAMES! felix is obsessed with them, he drops them left and right even on friends, and on oliver it’s two fold. darling, sweetheart, angel, bambi, my love, doll, lover, all the classics, and oliver never gets tired of it. oliver is less outspoken/public with his affection, coming back to the show vs tell thing. i think to him, calling felix by his name or shortened versions (fee, lix, etc) is just as intimate as any pet name.

felix draws hearts and little messages with his finger against oliver’s skin when they’re in public, or when they’re just laying in bed at home. oliver likes to try and decipher them, or write ones back.

i know felix drives during the roadtrip scene, but i think in a relationship he would actually be an awful driver and a big passenger princess and oliver wouldn't be picky about music so he'd let him have the aux. felix would love to just lean against the window and stare at oliver or stick his feet on the dashboard/out the window and lay his head on the console even though oliver would hate it so much because "what if we get in an accident, felix??"

felix would love to abuse his size difference and would pick up oliver literally any chance he gets and oliver would pretend to hate it but he'd grow to love it bc it means getting to have physical contact with him <3

felix is terrified of bugs and will literally stand on a stool until oliver deals with them, but oliver hates having to kill them so he takes them outside in a cup. or alternatively, oliver is absolutely terrifying and goes into murder–mode to eliminate the source of whatever is scaring felix.

nsfw:

i think they’re both switches & verses tbh, with how their personalities are they would both enjoy having control but also being able to give up control and do what they’re told.

they both have praise kinks and servicing kinks as per my extensive brainrot and whole one-shot about it lol

felix is a little slutty exhibitionist and oliver is a creeper voyeur (/affectionate). he loves to have felix dress up pretty for him and he’s obsessed with taking pictures of him on felix’s film cameras for his eyes only, wallet photos if you will. and felix loves showing off for him and feeling oliver’s eyes on him like he’s just a piece of meat, like oliver is a predator and he’s prey.

oliver is obsessed with body worship, he loves to spend ages marking felix’s skin and getting him worked up and teasing him until he snaps, all the while acting innocent because “i just wanna show you how pretty you are”. paying attention to each individual body part, leaving kisses everywhere, using body worship as an outlet for his intense obsession and fixation.

both of them are possessive, but they deal with it in different ways. felix’s jealousy is quicker to flare up and he’s more likely to be confrontational about someone hitting on oliver; he has a hard time hiding his jealousy too when oliver is being a little too friendly with someone, getting all pouty and sulky, but oliver is good at talking him down. felix leaves marks all over his neck to make himself feel better, to show everyone that oliver is his, and oliver has no complaints about this. oliver’s possessiveness is quieter, jealousy that bubbles just beneath the surface, sometimes grows borderline–murderous, but he’s never confrontational about it. he sits with it until they’re alone, and then makes sure felix remembers who he belongs to. and at the end of the day, knowing he can make felix, this powerful golden god in his eyes, crumble beneath him is enough to quell any jealousy because he knows no one else will ever see him like he gets to. oliver loves marking him up too, but he loves doing it below the collar, like a secret that only the two of them know.

felix has an oral fixation. obviously. in the film he always has a popsicle or lollipop or cigarette or finger in his mouth; it just makes sense. one of his favourite things ever is when oliver lets him lay his head in his lap and cockwarm him until his jaw is aching while they watch a movie or oliver reads, because having his mouth occupied calms his always restless body and mind, but also he loves the closeness of it. he definitely gets a tongue piercing just to fidget with, but also takes so much joy in the way it effects oliver.

they're both definitely into freak shit, that goes without being said. they both always jump to try new things, always willing to feed into each other's obsessions, to play along with each other's kinks and fixations. i could elaborate enough on their kinks for one whole post about it lbr lmfaoo

i think felix probably gets super clingy and soft spoken and cuddly after sex when he subs and how he loves that oliver makes him feel small and safe afterwards, never feeling judged for opening up in that way. oliver is absolutely such a service bottom and service top, so getting to feed into that when domming is his favourite thing. he knows what felix needs before felix does, and felix trusts him with his life (ha.) he does occasionally tease felix for being a pillow princess, though.

and then vice versa, felix loves being able to help oliver get out of his always-racing overthinking mind when oliver subs, he loves making him feel so cozy and protected and safe in his arms afterwards. he feels so special that ever–reserved oliver trusts him and lets his guard down around him like that, recognizes the vulnerability it takes, and oliver feels so special seeing how much care felix takes with him.

both of them love having their hair played with and they both definitely get off on having it pulled.

i'll do an updated one of these soon, i'm sure! honestly most of these are from maybe the first week or so after i watched saltburn for the first time, and i feel like my view on their characters has evolved a LOT since then and i could go into a lot more detail/more niche tropes, but i have a lot of asks to get back to today so i'll save it for another time. <33

[neteyamyawne]

🪷 — Txasunu

୭ ˚. Pairing : sub!JakeSully x dom!fem!Navi!reader

୭ ˚. Summary : just Jake being a really good sub and enjoying what the reader is giving to him.

୭ ˚. Song : super freaky girl

୭ ˚. Warning : bondage, mommy kink, sub Jake, dom reader, pet names, cum denial, frustration crying? Begging, etc let me know if there are more.

୭ ˚.Word count : 900+ , not proof read

୭ ˚. Note : "word" - dialogue, word - thoughts

୭ ˚. Extra : as i said, i wanted a sub Jake Sully and i wrote it as well, it's a bit small then what i normally write but it's been a stressful week so here you go anyways 😭

୭ ˚. Glossary : [toruk makto] - rider of the last shadow, [seze] - blue flower, [tiyawn] - love/beloved , [yawntutsyip] - darling, [y/n/n] - your nickname

Jake was the toruk makto, the na'vi who led everyone to victory against the humans but that was outside our shared tent. Inside he is a whole different story.

All tied up, head rolling back, legs shaking in anticipation with what my next move would be, his cock out on display for me…. Only for me. I just sat between his legs, stimulating him even when I know he is at the edge begging for the release but there's no fun in that, is there?

My hand ran down his length, tugging and gripping until his moans turned into pathetic whimpers, strings of precum dripped down his slit, his mushroom head throbbing and purple from not getting any attention from me, his hands tugged onto the rope in hopes of breaking it but it was in vain as i brought my mouth on his hot tip, his body failing to tug any longer just caved in for me, i took him in, sucking and licking with my tongue swirling around his girth, he groaned out, hips buckling to thrust up into my mouth but i just pulled back giving him just as much as i was before, with fogged mind poor Jake couldn't even form coherent words, he just babbled "um'ma please- i, please, you on me" his cock twitched inside my mouth, the clear sign he was going to come so i simply pulled back, cold air wrapping around his now sticky situation, he thrust his hips into air and got nothing but dissatisfaction, a chuckle made its way out of me at his desperate state, ohh how i love seeing him so needy for me, eyebrows scrunched in frustration he finally cleared his mind enough to form a sentence "please, I've been a good boy, I've don- ah I've done everything you said, mommy please untie me so i can touch you" i just shook my head, hands going upto his nipple turning the hard end inbetween my index finger and thumb while other caressed his jaw as i say " you have indeed been my good boy, yawne, but i saw you talking to that girl when we were at the festival, i saw how you touched her, the way you smiled at her, and i think you deserve your punishment now, hmm?" He closed his eyes whimpering when he remembered the exact conversation i said, his lips immediately opening up " we were just talking i swear, i would never do that, i didn't mean to touch her, she kept touching my arm, i- I'm sorry, please forgive me mommy please-" it was so sweet to hear him beg and mewl for my forgiveness, i silenced him by tugging at his hair from the back where my hand was before, he immediately shut up, tears were glistening his wide doe eyes as he looked at me with such a pretty look so i decided he deserved his release as i have denied him plenty of time now.

Untieing the rope that held his wrist, he slid onto the mat, his back pressed to the ground as he gasped for air, his wrist were still tied up together, i hold them above his head as i teased his cock while rubbing my entrance on it, sinking down his moans were music to my ears as they reverberated on the tent walls, his eyes rolled back in his head, as i started to bounce in a slow pace, enjoying every stroke inside me, i rubbed my swollen clit, the juices of my cunt gathering on my fingers, i looked down at Jake's fucked out state, smirking i said " open your mouth sweet boy" and he obeyed without a thought , parting his lips for me, pushing my fingers inn he immediately sucked on it, so desperate to please me in any way possible, his tongue lapping up my slick in seconds, i pat his cheek, making my pace faster to reward him, i still held his hands above his head not giving him a chance to escape nor was he even planing to by now, his chest and neck littered with hickies and bite marks, one dark hickey right on his Adams apple, my tail wrapped around his, swirling around eachother. I was nearing my edge, my velvety walls spasming on his cock, i let out a sigh at the feeling, squeezing them even tightly on him as he let out a choked out sound, keeping my pace fast i gasped out "come for me ,seze, show me how hard you can come tiyawn" he bucked his hips into me, and soon enough we were both coming together, both of us panting and heaving, i just leaned down kissing him, riding our high down i still kept my pace quick, our climax helping me, he just groaned at the overstimulation and i just smiled into the kiss, pulling back i got up while he was still panting, i picked up a rag and cleaned both of us, he was still dazed as i finished, i untied his wrist and he just looked at me with lidded eyes, i ignored him and started kissing his neck again, i still kept a tight grip on his wrists with my hand as he said "ma' y/n/n, are you-" but i cut him off with a kiss and said "shh I'm not over with you just yet ma' yawntutsyip" and he just nodded eagerly getting into position in an instant, - it's gonna be fun today - i thought smiling as i brought him down between my thighs……

A/n : i think we all need a sub Jake Sully in our lives as well 🥹 anyways please request more, i have a few ideas for a new series but i need some suggestions feel free to ask ☺️

Yawne : @fanboyluvr, @callmeoncette, @lu-the-ghost-reader, @brisbriskett, @saltedcoffeescotch, @ducks118, @itscheybaby, @jackiehollanderr, @zoetrope1997, @yeosxxx, @persefolli

©Neteyamyawne2023 | All Rights Reserved. Do not repost on other platforms, copy, steal, or translate any of my works!

[demonmoonsupreme]

I agree so hard with your post. Something you didn't mention, is that that plot is there at all because of the source material. What do you think of Queen Guinevere compared to Gwen? Because I think that while the legendary figure may not be the passive "ideal" wife, she's endured for a reason. While Gwen, is more defined by what she didn't actually do and by Arthur's love interest.

I’m so sorry, I think I’m answering this days late I honestly didn’t see it! I never get asks. And this will probably make no sense (raging headache), but here goes.

I definitely think the only reason the bbc writers included the adultery plot is because it is such a major part of Queen Guinevere’s characterization in Arthuriana. In earlier stories she’s usually with Mordred, but in later legends she’s depicted as having this epic romance with Lancelot. One thing I do really enjoy about the historical context of that is that because she’s a married woman, she actually has the ability to pursue lovers outside of her marriage bed. “Courtly Love” was never about dashing knights and fair maidens; it was about sexual autonomy that could be afforded to married women if they found themselves sexually or romantically unsatisfied. I feel that Guinevere was in part written to appeal to women. And, I mean, I know that even within that context she’s often characterized as either a loyal and diplomatic wife and Queen, or as a usurping harlot that can’t get rid of her husband fast enough. And people will still judge her for that just as they would Gwen. So while I absolutely adore Queen Guinevere and all that she is and could be, I do find that a lot of the older legends don’t always do they very best at characterizing her as a stand-alone figure. It’s usually Arthur and Guinevere, or Lancelot and Guinevere. As though she doesn’t really exist outside of her connections to men. Thankfully, more recent literature has developed her beyond her relationships to men. And either way, old or new stories alike (well, I mean apart from the kidnapping stories that are common in Arthuriana), she is depicted as having a plenty of autonomy in choice of a lover.

BBC, for some unknown reason, decided Gwen was forbidden the dreaded ‘A’ word.

I also just want to say, I think Guinevere and Lancelot have persevered to be this cultural phenomenon in the same vein as Romeo and Juliet. People just wrote them as being magnetic; they were epic and tragic. And I remember being, like, 12 years old and seeing some illustration of when Guinevere is sentenced to death for adultery and while the flames rise around her Lancelot cuts down his own comrades to save her. Because as poetic as courtly love is, and as fantastical to a woman in the medieval ages would find this beautiful & powerful heroine who dared desire someone who wasn’t her own husband, Guinevere was kept in check by the misogynistic society in which she lived. Monogamy was really only something that it was considered integral for women to engage in; a marriage to a woman meant possession of her body (and yeah, of course this also has to do with line of succession, but I really don’t want to go into a tangent about exclusive mating rights with a figure that is most often portrayed as infertile). Which is why the rebellion that Guinevere did against that is so cool. Lancelot was noticeably not burning at the stake, and being Lancelot he, well, betrayed his king and friend (and I always figured that Lancelot loved Arthur) again and saved Guinevere because as he sees it she is no more guilty than he is and he couldn’t let her die for their shared transgression. And that illustration has fucking stuck with me for 15 years as the epitome of everything.

So yeah, unfortunately Gwen was mostly a plot device. I love her to bits, but it soon becomes apparent as the show goes on that she doesn’t exist because she must exist and her journey is integral. She’s there simply because they figured they needed a Guinevere for authenticity. Just like they decided they needed the cheating plotline: for authenticity. It was just another plot to throw in there, but because the plot doesn’t truly come from the depths of that character’s soul…it falls flat. And it’s just bad 😖.

And I know that Angel and Santiago could have eaten up that adultery arc. Every time they were on screen together I literally felt like a had cinderblocks on my chest, the chemistry was suffocating.

And to make the day! @thesongistheriver pointed out that Gwen barely passes the Bechdel test post series 1. So the writers gave her barely any women confidants, killed her family, used her as a plot device, took away her autonomy, and then had the gaul to characterize her as so one dimensional and moral that ‘she did this things but no she really didn’t, because if she really did she wouldn’t be likeable anymore’. Bullshit, the main character killed someone every episode and people swallowed it.

[cheeseplants]

Tagged by @doonarose

How many works do you have on ao3? 12

What's your total ao3 word count? It's 176,820 if you count the massive Choose Your Own Adventure fic, but 59,604 if you don't.

What fandoms do you write for? Good Omens, obviously

Top five fics by kudos:

The Human Manual (E) - Angel Crowley & Angel Aziraphale Make an Effort for the first time in Heaven after reading through the Human Manual. Silly humorous fluff written for the @goodomensafterdark Smut war.

Angel, it’s cold outside (E) - I wanted them to spoon. It's cold outside, Crowley turns up to help Aziraphale warm up... in bed. Also written for the smut war!

I’m Dreaming of a Light (and Dark) Christmas (T) - A cute fluffy as Hell Hallmark-inspired Christmas fic of human Aziraphale and Crowley fighting with over-the-top Christmas decorations.

One Night in Bethlehem (E) - A random sort of PWP Christmas one-shot of Crowley teaching Aziraphale several firsts on the first-ever Christmas. The aim was to write porn but not have them kiss! There is plenty pining.

The Ecstasy of Eden (E) - My current WIP, a rather ridiculous 5 in 1 fic written for the High Pollen Sex Pollen event. 5 times they used sex pollen, and the one time they didn't Through the Ages fic.

Do you respond to comments? Yes! I think I am fully caught up on responding to all of them.

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Well, I wrote a lot of the bad endings in the Choose Your Adventure fic Coming Home, if you found yourself being like - noooo, that was likely me. I have also left my current WIP in a state of angst before updating. And fully completed I'd probably say Angel, it’s cold outside has a pretty bittersweet ending.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? It's got to be I’m Dreaming of a Light (and Dark) Christmas, no canon compliant messiness to deal with there. Just good ol' Christmas cheer.

Do you get hate on fics? I got a weird comment that made no sense, but it wasn't hate.

Do you write smut? YES. And so much more than I ever would have thought. I am literally writing a back-to-back porny WIP that is 30k long. Though after that I may take a break and write a bit of Gen/T, I have some cute Outsider POV ideas I want to do.

Craziest crossover: I mean it has to be Good Omens and Clippy the Microsoft paperclip for a collab Christmas fic.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? I doubt it!

Have you ever had a fic translated? Nope.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? Yes, Clippy as above. And the CYOA adventure fic was an insane collab. Trying to do a couple of collabs at the moment.

All time favorite ship? Azicrow! But I am tempted to also write some Angelfish (Dagon/Michael) and big up to @isiaiowin for making me into Shax/Furfur (PHEW 🔥).

What's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I found a random draft of a WIP where Aziraphale Falls to Hell and sets up a bookshop down there and slowly falls back in love with Crowley. And it's a great concept but is on the backburner alongside all my other WIPs.

What are your writing strengths? Humour! I can write some silly set pieces, and people often say they cackle at it. I have been complimented on making silly stuff also hot. I guess that's a strength.

What are your writing weaknesses? GRAMMAR. OMG I am slowly learning how to use commas correctly and semi-colons and all that. Description I feel I need to do more of, I am often like - action, dialogue and forget to set the scene.

Thoughts on dialogue in another language? I mean my husband speaks like seven languages and often roasts me for people a typical Brit who can half cobble together a sentence in terrible Spanish. But if I needed to write any, he's right there!

First fandom you wrote in? I'm a newbie in my thirties! So I guess this one Good Omens. I think I probably wrote some Postman Pat and Animals of Farthing Wood stories when I was a child, so maybe them?

Favorite fic you've written? EEEP it's hard. I have a special place in my heart for I’m Dreaming of a Light (and Dark) Christmas. It was the first fic I properly wrote, and I love I still get kudos and comments on it in summer despite it being a Christmas fic. I also have a WIP currently titled Small Town Romance which is my baby, and hopefully it will soon see the light of day!

I tag: @zin-lynn-c, @isiaiowin, @fuzzygoblin, & @kneelbeforeyourdogbabylon

[synchodai]

just dropping by to say how much i love your jacegan fic 🥺 i want to start writing my own fic but i've tried and every time i lose interest and finish it. i love how you give us such quick updates with barely any typos and a clean structure. what's your secret? do you use any tools like ai to write so fast? thank you!

Oh wow, first of all, thank you for the compliment! Second of all, do not, and I mean DO NOT, for any purpose use chatgpt, character.ai, or any large langauge models for your writing — just don't. It won't help your writing, it won't help you as a writer, and it won't help anyone alse.

To answer the question, I guess I'm a relatively quick writer because I've been writing for years and years now outside of fanfiction, so I have a process and the habit down pat, honed from creative writing workshops and the more rigid process of academic writing. With the process I have, half the entire project is basically done even before I post the first chapter.

My approach to writing is very similar to how most people draw and make visual art. You start with a rough and vague outline and then add the details in later steps. Outlining is a learned skill. For fanfiction, most free-write their work, but if I actually intend to finish anything more than 10k+ words, I need to have a plan and know where I'm heading. I really do recommend at least learning to outline, even if you are an intuitive writer who will end up mostly ignoring it.

Here's a rundown of my "steps" with examples taken from my current fic and a project that's still in the planning stages that I may or may not write:

#1: Outline the whole project

Plot the fic chapter by chapter, centering each chapter around one major event or info reveal. You can be as vague and messy as you want for this step since you're the only one who'll get to see your outline anyway.

#2: Outline the scenes you want per chapter

You don't need to list everything that'll happen at this stage. These are the key scenes that you daydream about while listening to music or taking a walk. You can picture these scenes on vivid 4k.

#3: Write summaries of each scene

I put each chapter into a seperate document with their key scenes already there. Here's the phase where you just start telling yourself the story. Again, this isn't meant to be read and seen by anyone but you. The goal is just to know how the events are connected and will play out. This is also the part where I do most of my research.

For example, under Chapter 4 - Jace Recovers, I wrote:

Jace wakes up in Driftmark/High Tide. Body aching, barely can move. [Research here how long it takes to heal from broken arm and medieval casts.] Sees himself in the mirror for the first time and doesn't recognize himself. Has as existential crisis but because he's Jace, he channels the dread into wanting to keep fighting.

This is very short since it's a scene with no dialogue, just one character, and just one major plot point. Some of my summaries are 10x longer, especially for things like trials, small council scenes, battles, and other big events.

#4: Actually start writing the prose

Because you've done step #3, you won't be staring at a blank document and actually know how everything will play out. Without having to worry about plot consistency or inaccuracies since you've ironed that out in the previous step, you can focus on just making these things sound evocative or beautiful or punchy or comforting or angsty or whatever mood you want to communicate with your prose. The summary that was 55 words ended up being 750+ words after this step, and I breezed through it in one sitting.

#5: Plug the prose into a text-to-speech program

I don't have a beta-reader so this is basically my beta-reading step. There are plenty of free TTS apps out there and any of them will do. The goal here is to catch typos, see which lines sound clunky, repetitive, or disjointed, and make corrections accordingly. I listen to my own writing while doing chores, walking, or any other mundane task, and I find it the most enjoyble part of this process because it fills me with such a sense of accomplishment having that sort of tangibility in hearing my work.

Just to clarify, this is the process that I've tailored for my own personal needs and preferences. Every writer is different — some need to have a mood board or reference images or find summarizing their chapters removes the joy of "discovering" as they write. All those methods are perfectly valid as long as they get you to actually put words other people can read on a page. But you can't discover your own personalized method unless you actually start writing. It will be slow earnings at first, but eventually you will craft it bit by bit through trial and error.

OTHER MISCELLANEOUS REASONS WHY I WRITE SO QUICKLY

My job is not emotionally or physically draining, so I have plenty of energy for creative pursuits. If you go home exhausted, don't force yourself to churn out words. If this starts feeling like a chore and not fun, that's your signal to rest and take a break.

I write primarily on my mobile device. Because of this, I can write during downtimes and my commutes. There are some writers who have to be in front of a desk, but I recommend at least trying it on your phone just to see if it works for you.

If I don't want to write about it, then I don't. Don't ever feel like you have to write about anything if you don't want to. If there's a big battle that happens but you get bored writing action? Just tell the readers it happened in one or two sentences — no need to devote a whole scene or chapter to it if it doesn't excite you. Same with time passing and travel. You don't have to fill the page with paragraphs explaining what the characters did if you just want to get them from point A to B. If it isn't fun to write about, then your readers most likely won't have fun reading it either.

I don't care if it's not the best that I can do. Often, I do think I could have written certain things better and added more. But eh, it's fanfiction. It's a hobby. The fact that it exists and I created something is already an accomplishment and the desire to endlessly finetune gets in the way of that.

I have a community of fellow fanfic writers I can bounce ideas off of. Honestly, I got lucky with this one and just got invited to random server one day. But you can usually find discord servers with fellow fanfic writers linked in your fandom's subreddit.

I don't have twitter, instagram, tiktok, or other social media time sinks that might distract me from my hobby. This one speaks for itself. Tumblr is really the only place you can find me.

Anyway, I think that's pretty much it. I suggest starting small with a one-shot or short story, and then expanding from there. Happy writing, and remember, the goal really is to just have fun and be proud you made something with your own two hands (so absolutely NO AI).

[asshlyyyy]

Halloween Decorations (Elvis Headcanons)

Monday’s and Friday’s are the days that I want to get these holiday headcanons out. Which clearly isn’t working so far... If you had any ideas please let me know! I don’t know if I can keep up with them. They don’t have to be Halloween related, they can be fall related as well!

Masterlist

Pairing: Elvis/ Austin!Elvis x fem!reader

Warnings: Swearing, Baby Talk, Spelling and Grammatical Errors Most Likely

Word Count: 904

Fall in general was your favorite season.

It was the season when the warm hot air started to get cool.

The leaves started to change colors and it was just beautiful.

When you were growing up you remember spending all your time outside.

You played around the leaves and jumped in a fair amount of leaf piles.

That when you got married to Elvis you went all out.

You were fine reusing decorations, there was no issue there.

It was more or less getting your husband to help you.

While the fall decorations were easy... when it became October... out came the Halloween decorations.

Due to safety reasons, kids weren't allowed to come to your front door.

So, decorating always seemed pointless to Elvis.

That was... until you showed him what it looked like across the street when you look at the house.

As you brought up the storage boxes from the basement, Elvis walked out of the living room.

"Oh no..."

"Oh yes," you smiled and placed the fourth box down on the ground.

It's been a few years since you started decorating such a big house.

Which, turns out you need a lot of decorations...

You were sure you had a box just filled with this type of string to imitate cobwebs... because there was just so much fence to cover.

You had a few spiders to attach to the cobwebs.

You had plenty of plastic pumpkins, and eventually, you and Elvis would go out to get some to carve.

"I have to grab a few more boxes, but can you put these outside for me?"

"Of course," Elvis said as he started to move the boxes outside.

Even though he didn't like decorating... he liked being around you.

You grabbed the last few containers and met Elvis outside who was sitting on the steps.

"Can you grab the rocks from the shed?"

"Anything for you, my darlin'." Elvis said as he stood up. He pressed a quick kiss to your lips and made his way to the shed.

In the meantime, you started to grab out the pumpkins.

They were all different colors.

The colors you picked yourself. You wanted to get one for your family.

While your family was still very much quite small... you both included your parents.

You bought the basic orange pumpkin colors and then spray-painted them.

You then wrote the name under the pumpkin.

Sure no one saw, but it was still meaningful to you.

You started to line them up on the stairs. You both had four pumpkins on both sides.

While you never met Gladys, you still had a pumpkin out for her.

Along with Elvis' brother, Jesse.

It doesn't take long for you guys to decorate the entrance.

What took a long was the fence, but the fans helped out sometimes.

Not only was it a time to talk to Elvis, but it was also a time to spend with fans.

"When do ya think we'll add another pumpkin?" Elvis asked as you guys were walking back from the fence.

"What do you mean? You don't like how they look?" You asked confused.

"I meant... when do you think we can remove our family, and just have... our family."

"Elvis Presley are you-"

"I am," he smiled and looked at you.

You blushed lightly and shook your head.

You would love a baby.

Not to mention, they would love to help decorate with you.

The tiny costumes you could put them in.

Ahhh, you were dying at the thought.

But for now, you had to finish decorating.

"Hm, I like the sound of that. However, we need to finish decorating. Now help me put the skeletons out."

"Never thought I would ever hear that." Elvis chuckled and shook his head.

"All right, Mr. Killer. Let's just get this finished and we can talk about adding another pumpkin."

You two spent the rest of the day outside decorating.

You laughed.

You kissed.

You loved.

And soon you were in the kitchen cooking.

"How long has this been on your mind?" You asked him as you started to make dinner.

"Since I met you."

"That long eh?" You turned to look at him, a slight smirk on your face.

"Can ya blame me? Our kids would be cute."

"I can't argue with you there." You agreed and faced back towards the stove.

"Just think about it," Elvis said as he came up behind you.

He wrapped his arms around you and swayed your hips together.

"You wouldn' have to bother me anymore to help decorate..."

"I like your company though."

"You can dress them up in cute costumes."

"That's true..."

"We could all have matching costumes."

"Oh! I haven't even thought about that."

"We would have a baby."

You turned to face him and smiled.

You pressed your lips against his and kissed him deeply.

"I would love to have a baby," you whispered against his lips and pulled away.

Want to join my taglist? // Let me know If I spelt any wrong! I have updated my form for my taglist. You will be tagged under everything now in that selected fandom/person. Just makes my life easier.

Taglist: @mirandastuckinthe80s, @mommy-maia, @yagirlalexx, @slutforblueeyes, @alligator-person, @diorxmimi, @anangelwhodidntfall, @pumkiinpasties, @djconde58, @starryhazee, @21bruhs, @girlblogger2002, @dollfaceyourfear, @smbonilla2002, @homebodybirkin2003, @apparently-sunshine, @dark-as-love, @pandora-journey, @hsstylesrings, @jeonggukschris, @4everrmore, @bewitched-tales, @thelaziest10, @butlersluvbot, @curatedbyemily, @lovingly-unlovingme, @starlight-jpg, @omegellenlouise, @gyomei-tiddies, @Chlobug07, @wandawiccan60, @re3kin, @Itzjira18, @passengerjett, @neepo, @vane28282, @emilykolchivans, @gothantoinette, @gruffle1, @ilovemuppets, @hangmanswhore, @theinvibislecapricorn, @hariestyles1, @annamarie16, @holliemahady, @misacc08, @Brighteyesscum, @marchingicenotes7, @callthedarknessdown, @domaniquessidehoe, @gay-af-satan, @skinnypantsmcgee, @sassyblazecloud, @lovelyney, @lordandmistress, @Sharkslayersblog, @billysway, @nuo0n, @coldonexx, @adoreyouusugar, @aliciaelle47, @kh1898, @danitheedanimal, @raefoxiegirl, @cobra-kaii, @rylee-durhxm, @bob-the-tomato, @crabat-the-queen, @naveyelise, @austinbutlersgirlfriend, @iluvnerds69, @hopefulinlove, @aradevil, @Tylerdurdenisme, @laperceval, @xcallmetaniax, @londonalozzy, @mslizziesblog, @rosemochaaesthetic-blog, @bxbylexi23, @gloomynigvts, @persephones-blood-iris, @milaa24, @randompointlessbeauty, @auds02, @BubblyYork, @nora-nexus-34, @jazmin2211, @kittenlittle24, @Rqseycheeks, @moonbird1507, @bobthefishiesworld, @cevans-winchester, @luckyevansstan, @noorreads, @idc123sworld, @normatural, @hauntedarchivesx, @Luna4mnoon, @imagineslut01, @Kayleealicej, @thatcrazyfangirl22, @amiets2, @loveisalover, @myguiltypleasures21, @poppet05, @xcallmetaniax, @fullmetal-falcon, @kaitaesupremacy, @rainydayz101, @asd-n-adhd-fox, @loveisalover, @eliseinmemphis​, @adaydreamaway08

[miss-meri]

I’ve wanted to say this for months. Years? But it’s hard. I can feel myself losing my voice again. Fandom is important to me because in some ways I feel it’s the only way I can really connect with others.

My therapist said something interesting right when we met. After talking about my life and friends and worries, she said, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world, “Oh, so you’re an extrovert.”

?????

I have been scolded for being too quiet and too private and too scared of speaking to strangers since childhood. An extrovert?

But she’s not… wrong.

I was lonely, weird only child with too much of an intense interest in things no one else was interested in. Meteorology: I watched the weather channel like other people watched cartoons. Books: I read the same ones over and over and over. Star Trek: I sort of lived in space with them and got the nickname “little miss vocabulary” because of all the language I mimicked.

ADHD explains some of this, now. Very intense fixations with zero interest in anything that doesn’t align. And maybe I’m a little on the spectrum too, although I will not seek that diagnosis and don’t score high on the RAADS test.

I feel like most of my childhood was spent searching for someone who cared about things the way I did, and then coming up empty handed.

That’s not to say I was without friends!

I’ve always had friends. Close friends, starting in kindergarten and continuing on, even when I was years younger than everyone else, ahead a grade and getting bullied, even when I was bad at hiding how weird my interests are. That’s really lucky, and I’m grateful.

But having friends did not mean sharing my intense interests with them. They’d let me chatter about it, just like I listened to things I wasn’t interested in (boys mostly later on, this is long before I realized I was ace), but it wasn’t shared, if that make sense?

Fandom and my best friends were the first place I felt that mirrored back. Anime conventions. Writing stories together. Cosplay. Watching The Show and then reading The Fic and then discussing, endlessly. It is the high I’ve chased ever since. All my close relationships are based on it. I met my spouse through cosplay.

I finally had people!! I finally had people who understood what I was trying to say!!! And I understood them too, deep and unambiguous. Fandom is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. It’s driven me around the world, brought me joy and creativity and self-worth and new skills. I love it.

And then, my longest, deepest, and going-on-eight-years-strong hyper fixation: Yuri on Ice.

Holy shit.

Nothing has ever hit so hard. I spent literally years talking about it with other fans, every day creating. I’ve published over 400,000 words of fanfiction and have much more yet-unpublished. Before writing this post I wrote 2k. I think about it constantly and enjoy it for its own sake, as evidenced by how much of it I just don’t post anywhere at all. I love sharing but in the end fic truly is for me.

But the fandom has slowed down, in the natural way things do. It’s no one’s fault. There are plenty of other interesting things to see and read and do. All my precious friends have been moving on, one by one. And we’re still friends, don’t get me wrong! Of course we are. I have spoken with most of them every day for years, and care deeply about their lives outside of fandom.

But what I’m trying to say is I’m an extrovert in a *very specific way*, and now I’m back in that place again. I can’t connect and have it reflected back, I can’t hear something new. There’s no end to it. Have been trying to have some space for grief. I have been getting quieter and quieter, and not feeling a lot to look forward to.

Been playing mobile games to fill the void and just feeling gray. I’m not sad, just. Faded out. It sounds so dramatic that I don’t want to even type all of this out. I want to say there’s no thesis, nothing I’m seeking, no end goal.

But maybe it’s the same as always: I want understanding.

So that’s what’s up.

[baronessofmischief]

I think in terms of deciding whether or not to write accents phonetically (I’m against it) it mostly comes down to the fact non-native speakers will almost always do it incorrectly and it ends up being seen— however well-intended— as an insult, parody, or stereotype. This can also be said of (and has been said many times about) using other languages in a story. If you haven’t lived in and taken an active focus on actually studying the way accents form and evolve and function within a specific environment, including speaking extensively with people who have that particular dialect or accent, you are much more likely to do harm than good in including it in your writing.

There are innumerable places where it could be done incorrectly; accents, dialects, and language will be used differently across age, gender, class, social standing, environment, time period, subculture, context, and individual persons, even when the two people speaking are from the exact same culture. It’s not to say you can’t do it, it’s to say if you’re going to do it, you need to do it right. You need to be able to justify how and why you wrote something the way you did outside of “It sounded good.” Back it up with research and justify your reasoning, and above all be receptive to criticism and admit when you’re wrong or unaware of something pointed out to you.

I’m not even someone for whom English is a second language and I can frequently tell when an accent or dialect is being used incorrectly because I’ve seen it done even with American accents. It’s very easy to tell when someone who isn’t southern or midwestern or northeastern isn’t a native to those regions.

And I know it ’s hard! But guess what: writing is hard. If this isn’t something you’re willing to commit time to, best not to use it at all.

Plenty of other people can talk more about the foreign language aspect, but if you want advice for writing accents in English: don’t write it phonetically unless it’s an entirely different word (ex. “Y’all” being a contraction of “you all”). Number one: it’s harder to process and puzzle out in a written format especially since every writer is likely to do it differently using their own arbitrary set of rules, and number two, you’re much more liable to make your character look like a cartoon stereotype which any number of people will at best, simply back out of a fic and possibly not read your work with those characters again, or at worst, be insulted or harmed by the depiction. It’s worsened by the fact that if that reader says nothing, you the writer get away with it, and if they DO say something, they risk backlash or active harm. It’s a lose/lose situation.

Instead of changing the spelling of the word and adding a bunch of apostrophes, focus more on actual vocabulary and slang to the point you can give the reader enough flavor to ‘hear’ how that character speaks and move on. Additionally, don’t have them spout random phrases that don’t make sense in context of the scene just to emphasize the fact they’re “not from around here.” There are very few cases where someone is going to project random idioms as a means of announcing their presence to the room as someone with a different way of speaking.

Environmental context clues should inform the reader of what region the character’s voice is from. You the author know what the character is saying— so write what they’re saying and trust your readers to fill in the gaps. If you’re a native English speaker, writing broken English is going to come across as rude and ignorant no matter how well you think you’ve done it.

[deepdisireslonging]

Maybe One Day: Chapter 3

Life in Gotham is never simple. Sophia’s shift is threatened when, in the midst of a hospital emergency, she suddenly acquires two shadows. Red Hood’s problems spill into her own.

Pairing: (eventual) Red Hood x Sophia Adler (OC)

Warnings/Promises: canon-levels mafia violence, cw blood

Word Count: 1900

Note: Smut in the next chapter! This was a commission I wrote back in December for a patron. I’m going to share it here bit by bit. As always, I really appreciate all reblogs and comments.

Chapter 2: Here

December Twenty-Fourth 

GOTHAM HOSPITAL, 3 PM

“Special delivery for Sophia Adler?” 

Hearing her name, she looked up from her clipboard. Alexis was standing there with a coffee cup in one hand. When she reached, Alexis held it back. 

“Okay, spill. Who in the world could be sending you the sugariest drink on the cafe’s menu on Christmas Eve?” She was met with silence. Shrugging, she handed it over. “Does this have something to do with why you’ve been jittery all week? And I don’t mean the caffeine.”

Sophia scoffed. Looking at the cup, she wondered if her name written on it was by the barrister, or from her hooded friend. “It’s nothing.”

“If this is some boy who’s been harassing you and is trying to buy your favour-”

“No. Heavens no!” Sophia almost laughed. Red Hood didn’t have that kind of power over her. “It’s just… a thank you from somebody I helped. The jitters… it’s almost Christmas. Something is always bound to happen and-”

“Don’t jinx us.”

A few hours later, it was too late to take it back. 

There had been an explosion. Took down part of the railway and the highway at the same time. And all at rush hour when everyone was leaving for the holiday. Sophia didn’t have time to think. Everything was bandaging, calming those howling in pain, and doing her best to find enough beds. Despite their best efforts, the hospital was overrun. Even the spare wings were full. 

It took several passes for Sophia to notice them. They never moved. Just watched. 

Two of them. Not obtrusive enough to get in the way, but large enough to be intimidating. Enough people were bustling around that Sophia was never alone. They only got close once. By then, she was elbow deep into patching up a mother-infant duo. One of them reached out.

Panicked, she said, “here, hold this,” and shoved a handful of blankets into his arms. Stunned, he held them until she could pass them out to those who needed them. Then she placed as much distance between them and her as possible. But they were never far away. 

<\\\*///>

DOCK C, 6 PM

Red Hood stumbled back. He wiped at his bottom lip, miffed at the little dribble of blood. Ahead of him, a cluster of goons armed with bludgeons and knives started to circle him. Front and centre stood Bill. 

He gleefully checked the sharpness of his knife. “Third time’s the charm, right, Hood? This time, you won’t be able to check in with your medical assistant. She’ll have plenty of problems on her own.”

In the distance, Red Hood could still hear the sirens of ambulances trying to gather up the victims from the blast. Hopefully, that was all Bill meant. It tugged at the back of his mind as he fought off the ring of goons. They landed plenty of hits and cuts on him to make his movements slower, but he didn’t stop until it was just him and Bill. Soon Bill’s shirt cuff was once again in his hands. 

“No, no, no, please. We can work this out. Peacefully. Right?”

“Nope.” 

Bill’s brow furrowed. “But if you kill me, I can’t tell you what the boss has got planned for your nurse chic.”

“What about my nurse chic?”

<\\\*///>

Sophia’s shift had ended long ago. Despite the need and her willingness to stay, Alexis echoed the order from their manager. 

“At least take a break. There will plenty of people still here to help when you get back.”

They were still there. Ready to follow her every move. Sophia huffed, “Fine. What snacks are still in the breakroom?”

Alexis shoved her towards the door. “Nuh-uh. Go outside. If you sit down in here, you’ll get pulled back into the fray. I don’t want to see you for an hour. At least three would be better.” No amount of pleading and cajoling could stop her friend. 

Finally, she caught Alexis in a big hug. Potentially the last. “Thank you. For everything.”

“Of course, hun. Now get out there so you can come back!” 

With the two shadows over her shoulder, Sophia wasn’t sure that would happen. She walked around the corner to the employee parking. Concrete walls surrounded it. No other way out besides the way in. Helplessness settled in. She didn’t make it to her car before a heavy hand landed on her shoulder and she heard two shots. 

When the sound of two thuds followed instead of pain in her chest, she looked behind her. Red Hood was standing over the men, kicking their drawn weapons out of the way. 

Sophia breathed a sigh of relief and slumped against a car. “Could you not make more work for me, please?”

“I wasn’t going to let them kill you. But they’re only shot in the shoulder if you want me to leave you alone-”

“No! I appreciate the help.” One rattled breath later, she smoothed down her scrubs. “So, where to?”

“No.”

“Yes.” Sophia crossed her arms. “You have been beaten within an inch of your life and I can see the battle still isn’t done. Now either you let me come along, or I’m going to chase after you in my car to catch you when you collapse. Am I clear?”

Red Hood breathed a laugh. “As crystal.”

<\\\*///>

DOCK B, 8 PM

Through the binoculars, Sophia could see the shipping warehouse down below. It was crawling with goons. Red Hood had picked their observation spot shortly after they had dragged a couple of security guards into a closet. Sophia zoomed in. 

She startled as Black Mask turned. He looked around like he knew someone was watching. 

Shaken, she handed the binoculars back to Red Hood. “There’s so many of them. And Black Mask is down there.” Sophia tilted her head. “I thought he’d be taller.” 

Red Hood chuckled. “Oh, I wish I could witness you say that to his face.” He looked her in the eye. “But you’re going to stay up here.” Before she could complain, he added, “I need a lookout. There’s a lot of guys down there, yeah. But there could be more waiting for me to show up. Can you be my eyes?”

Sophia nodded, but her hands were shaking. When she flattened them on her knees to wipe the clamminess off, his hand laid over hers. 

“You don’t have to do this, you know. I’ve done this alone plenty of times and I can do it again.” He smiled. 

“You don’t have to fake a smile. I’m a nurse in Gotham; I grew up here. I know what’s out there.” She breathed deeply. “I’m just nervous. It’s my first case.” 

“Your only case.”

“You keep saying that like it’s going to dissuade me.” Snatching back the binoculars, she set to her task. “So, what names can I call over the radio?”

“It’s a com-link. While we're here, it's Red Hood. Later, you can call me Jay.” 

A few minutes later, she was lying across a different rooftop. One that could see into the centre of the warehouse. Red Hood picked off the henchmen one by one. She’d convinced him not to kill any of them. He had to agree; shooting them would be too loud. As much time as it consumed for him to knock them out, tie them together and gag them, Sophia felt better for it. And she promised to keep them in her sights in case one or several got loose. 

“Ready?”

Sophia gulped. “Ready.”

Running along the catwalk close to the ceiling, Red Hood quickly shot at several of the goons, hitting them in the shoulders and legs. Black Mask immediately started yelling, dodging behind a crate. The suit tried to follow, but he was shoved out to find his own hiding place. 

“On your left,” Sophia said, watching a henchman close in on his position. 

Red Hood turned the other way. 

“Sorry. My left, your right.”

With a growl into the com, he quickly turned around. “How about letting me watch my own back, and you keep an eye on our boys?”

“Right.” Sophia refocused on the bundle of men outside. They were still secure, though a dark shape whisked by. When she said as much, Red Hood grunted, followed by the sound of rapid, angrier punching. 

“Great.”

He flipped and had just landed in front of Black Mask’s crate when another collection of men with guns emerged from the shadows. Sophia didn’t have time to shout. And he didn’t have time to react. A dark shape landed between him and trouble, tossing something that exploded into smoke. 

“Nice to see you, Bats. But I had this.”

“Hmm.”

Together, they handled their attackers and succeeded in preventing the suit from getting away. Despite Sophia’s attempts, Black Mask’s exit route evaded her. She stayed put while Batman and Jay collected the goons. Jay turned off his com when they started to talk about the shipment, but not before she heard Batman say, “Savage tech. This should never have made it to Gotham.”

After the flurry of blue and red lights had come and gone, the vigilantes landed on her roof. Terrified, Sophia did her best not to flinch as Batman looked her over. 

Jay crossed his arms. “I had this. You shouldn’t have gotten involved.” 

“According to the two Black Mask employees you left in the Gotham hospital parking lot, yes I did.” He turned back to Sophia. “It might be best if you don’t go back to the hospital for a few days until you can come up with a reasonable story for your disappearance. Your coworkers will be frantic.” 

“I’ve already got one. So I’ll go back now.”

“No, you won’t.”

“Yes, I will. There are hundreds of people who need my help. I’ve done my part to prevent future pain, but I need to attend to ones who are in pain now.” When Jay chuckled, Sophia suddenly remembered who she was talking to. “Can you spare Red Hood for my ride back?”

The younger man stepped forward, “absolutly-” 

“Not.” With a sigh, Batman levelled his shoulders. “You need to make yourself scarce. Without making any more trouble. Ms Adler, I’ll drive you back.”

There was no room for debate. She and Jay managed a quick parting conversation where she promised Christmas cookies if he checked up on her. 

At first, it was a quiet drive. 

“Take care of him.”

Sophia turned her head. “What?”

“I can tell you’re just as stubborn as him. If you’re going to be involved on the regular… maybe he’ll listen to you. Do better than me.”

The hospital pulled into view. He stopped the Batmobile. 

“I still recommend going straight home tonight, no matter your story. Which is?”

Sophia shrugged. “I went to take my break and those guys tried to pressure me into sneaking them some drugs. It happens more than you think. When you showed up, they shot each other in the scuffle, and I rested at home after you handled things.”

“Hmm.”

Turned out, nobody asked. Even Alexis thought she had just returned from her break. Together, they went back into the fray stabilizing who they could, comforting those they couldn’t, and doing their best to sweep in some holiday cheer into the team. 

With Sophia’s usually scheduled shifts, she had the next three days off before another six straight days. 

But first… Christmas.

 <\\\*///>

Chapter 4: Here

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Masterlist

[terastalungrad]

BB20: Thursday 19 October

Henry's sad to be nominated. He's just been himself, but that clearly isn't enough for some people.

(Henry - the problem is that being yourself has meant not doing any chores.)

Dylan is thrilled to escape eviction this week. Dylan actually received no nominations at all.

Henry says he had his views on immigration before he met Trish. Think we all know which views those were. Honestly, I'll be horrified if he stays in against Zak.

Trish feels guilty for nominating Kerry. She worries that Kerry can tell.

Yinrun is fed up of housemates walking away mid-conversation with her. This happens every day. She feels isolated, struggling to join in with certain conversations. Very hard seeing her so upset. She's worried she isn't as interesting as she thought.

People love you so much outside the house, Yinrun. :(((

Oh no. The only people she has are Trish, Jordan ... and Henry. She loses one of her very few friends if Henry goes.

As Yinrun cries with Trish, Matty joins to offer support. I'd really love Yinrun and Matty to become friends.

---

When I first met Elanor [my wife], we'd play this game where we'd spell letters on each other's hands to communicate in secret. A fun bit of early relationship bonding.

Hallie and Olivia played this game yesterday, but oops! Not allowed to use secret codes in Big Brother.

Hallie admits to the secret messages - that she claimed that Zak was a gameplayer, and that she reckoned Matty nominated her. (My reading is that Hallie thinks Matty nominated her, which he didn't. But maybe she meant Matty nominated Olivia, which he did.)

Hallie and Olivia are given prison outfits, and must be put in a prison in the garden.

Hallie: I've always wanted to be in orange.

Iconic.

Zak thinks Hallie's a nice girl, and that she only called him a gameplayer for attention.

I ... don't think this. Hallie's wonderful, but she's definitely a gossip, and has a cynical reading of others.

Still, I'm glad this didn't turn Zak into a Hallie hater.

Hallie asks Olivia to improvise a song about prison. I love this! Olivia's songs are so terrible, yet Hallie loves them.

Ahh, this might hurt Olivia. As a result of the announcement, Matty speaks openly about his issues with Olivia. Matty was the only housemate who nominated Olivia this week, but there's a chance his opinion will become contagious now.

In jail, Hallie feels like she's let her family down.

Hallie: Sorry mum! Sorry grandma! I'm not a vindictive bitch.

Olivia: I'm sorry mum.

Olivia: ...

Olivia: What does "vindictive" mean?

Hallie: I don't know.

Previously, Olivia told Zak that Matty slyly eats more than his fair share.

Zak's now annoyed with Olivia, and tells Matty about this conversation.

In the diary room, Matty announces that any friendship he had with Hallie is now dead.

Zak's really devastated by Hallie's low opinion of him.

A bit of paranoid misunderstanding: with the secret codes, Olivia and Hallie wrote the word no - N, O - and some housemates think they were spelling out Noky's name. They were not, they were the start of the word NOMINATED.

This is such a turning point for Olivia and Hallie. They received three nominations between them yesterday, but today everyone's furious with both of them.

It's interesting. The code game was just a game. They weren't being Nasty Nick from BB1. Plenty of people in the house have gossiped in private. Hallie and Olivia broke the letter of the law with their messages, but didn't realise it, and didn't intend to.

So now their private conversation has been made public, because they didn't think the secret messages would count as a rulebreak.

Oh, blimey. Sounds like Matty has a difficult history with food. He confronts Kerry, who deals with the situation ... kind-of badly. I think she felt she was being attacked, which wasn't Matty's intention. He wanted to open up about a difficult thing in his own life - and felt dismissed, since Kerry moved on quickly to defend herself.

Hallie apologises to Zak. Turns out Zak's especially hurt because he's been so positive about her. He accepts her apology nicely. And finally, he gets to respond to the accusation that's spread like wildfire through the house.

It's not that Zak tries to be everyone's friend to avoid nomination. It's that if he sees someone sitting alone, he can't help but come over to keep them company. He knows what it's like to be alone, and he can't bear to see anyone else in that position.

I believe this completely.

Hallie assures Noky that her name wasn't mentioned at all, that this was a misunderstanding. Noky chooses to accept this apology, but worries that she'll look like an idiot if she's wrong. Noky worries often about how she'll be perceived.

Hallie is really gutted about this misunderstanding. She really hasn't said a bad word about Noky.

Tom has identified a mouse living under the hot tub. He's named it Roger.

Oh no, Kerry confronts Zak about the Matty situation! Kerry's really tied herself in knots over this. Matty wasn't annoyed with her! At least, not until she dismissed his attempt at opening up.

Kerry's annoyed because she had a private, bitchy conversation about Matty with Zak, and is horrified that Zak told Matty about the conversation. Zak says that in that case, he simply won't have private conversations with Kerry anymore.

Zak talks to Matty. Matty's perception? There's a clique in the house, and they're the mean girls. Kerry, Olivia, Hallie.