#i unlocked the key to writing a slow burn: work the fun bits whenever i want

[wanderingaldecaldo]

by @sidver

Every colour and every taste Every breath that whispers your name It's like emeralds on the pavement (I got your honey, baby) At the heart of some kind of flower Stuck in glitter, strands of saliva Won't you get me right where the hurt is?

Robyn, "Honey"

I am at a loss for words—metaphorically at a loss of course, as I am nothing if not a writer. I cried once before when I received a commission (this incredible piece of Val by khymeira), which incidentally was a year ago yesterday; and now today when I was blessed by this gorgeous piece.

More blubbering (and WIP Wednesday) under the cut.

For background on my request, I gave Sidver a bit of my corpo!Val story, the part where things officially go off the rails in the plan, where these two friends who are faking being in love accidentally cross a line, then deliberately cross it once more.

This picture isn't worth 1000 words. It's value is infinite. It would (will) take thousands upon thousands of words to tell this story—the way Mitch cradles her head, and the tentative possession with his other hand; how Val holds his face, caressing his scar; the way they stand together, uncertain but longing; god, the emotionsssss. Sidver took a few paragraphs of words and turned it into real art.

And now I'm going to make this long post even longer by shamelessly adding on my writing since beloved @starsandskies tagged me for WIP Wednesday; only gonna tag @ravenstrange for reasons*. Please forgive the indulgence and have ~500 of the thousands of words that I need to write to live up to this incredible picture Sidver painted.

“Long day,” Mitch says.

Rather than answer, Val leans her head against his shoulder. This casual intimacy catches in his throat. He knows he should stop it, that it’s only going to make things worse when it’s time to stop pretending and return to the family; but he can’t, doesn’t want to. Instead he wraps his cybernetic arm around her, his hand on her shoulder, and she leans into him and sighs again. He skims his hand up and down her bicep, tracing his fingers along the lean muscle before returning them to her shoulder and squeezing gently. She shivers beside him.

“Cold? Want my jacket?”

With a shake of her head, Val smiles up at him and his heart skips a beat. “Thanks.”

Silence falls between them once more. Mitch finishes his cigarette then stubs it out and flicks it into the darkness below. He wishes he could bottle this feeling and carry it back to camp with him, this comforting shared quiet. Without conscious thought Mitch turns his head and presses his lips to her forehead. He breathes deep, inhaling the unassuming scent of her shampoo. As soon as Val shifts he knows he made a mistake, and then she brings her emerald eyes up to his face.

He’s been captivated before by the white ring surrounding the green pupil, but he’s never before noticed the brown spikes that ring the iris, just like his own—central heterochromia, he remembers, though how he can think at all while she’s looking up at him like this is beyond him. As she studies his face her eyebrows draw together, a tiny line appearing between them. He can’t read her expression but it’s her, not the corpo, and his chest squeezes even tighter, the breaths harder to draw. 

Her eyes drop to his lips and her own lips part before she raises her gaze back to his, the tip of her tongue peeking out as she tilts her face to him. Blood roaring in his ears, Mitch knows it’s a lapse in judgment from the drink, from the look in her eyes when he tips his chin down and brings them closer together. Val closes the distance, pressing her soft lips against his in a hesitant kiss. After a moment she pulls back, searches his eyes while her fingers linger on his skin. She still is letting him in, even if he doesn’t know what he’s seeing. 

“Val,” Mitch murmurs, part warning, part affirmation. 

Her name on his lips makes her breath come faster and her hand moves to the back of his neck, pulling him down to her once more. His cybernetic fingers slide up her shoulder to twine in the hair at the back of her neck, searching for anything to ground him. His head spins as she deepens the kiss. He’s lost now, falling backward into the abyss and sinking into darkness, and he doesn’t care.

*️⃣ Raven, you've been an awesome friend, and I can't overstate how much better you made my life when you put the seed for this ridiculous thing in my head.

[theimprobabledreamersworld]

““ you look like shit. “ “ thank you. “” with Janus and Remus or Virgil?

Thanks for this request anon! I wrote this with Remus and Virgil, then Janus is mentioned here and there :)

There's warnings for injury detail, a fight mention and swearing but it's not too graphic! It was fun writing enemies to lovers- but it's a pretty slow burn, I'm almost tempted to write a part two for this :) This is basically the start of an enemies to friends to lovers.

Hope you enjoy! <3

General writing taglist: @psychedelicships @jwillowwolf @lost-in-thought-20 @red-imeanblue @writerwithtoomanyships

Read on Ao3!

I hate you, but I'll look after you.

Remus/Virgil (Pre-Dukexiety)

Warnings: Injury detail, fight mention, swearing

The firm knock on the door startled Virgil awake. He rubbed his eyes and realised that he had fallen asleep on the sofa once again while watching some complete garbage on the TV. He stumbled over to the front door as the knocking became more insistent and frantic.

“Alright, alright! Calm the fuck down down, I’m coming!” The irritation clear in his voice, whoever was on the other side of this door better have a good excuse. He grabbed his key and unlocked the door before pulling it open aggressively. Virgil was about to shout again but faltered when he saw the sight in front of him.

It was Remus, a person who has been in his life for many years. They never got on, or agreed on pretty much anything. They argued and bickered whenever they were in the same room as each other, which continued to the point where they hated each other with every bone in their bodies. They’ve had to be physically separated on multiple occasions by their long suffering friend Janus who was always caught in the middle of their altercations. Enemies would be the perfect word to describe them, but even in the epitome of hatred, Virgil couldn’t turn away.

“Woah… you look like shit.” He said in a matter of fact way. Remus was clutching his side and he was gripping the pillar next to the door with all the strength he had left. There were cuts and bruises all over him, a particularly nasty cut shone in the light above his eye. His other eye was swollen and he was clearly in pain, but despite it all he managed to smirk and give Virgil a sarcastic comment in response.

“Aww, thank you! Ah, Virgil. My mortal enemy. After all these years, it’s nice to hear a genuine compliment from you.” Virgil rolled his eyes before grabbing Remus’ shirt and dragging him inside the house. That cut on his head was concerning if nothing else. He finally lets go of Remus and pushed him down onto the sofa. He clicked his fingers while pointing to him as a warning. Move, and there will be more injuries for me to clean up. Remus slouches on the sofa, the pain was starting to get to him and he was not in the mood to argue or intensify the situation. He gritted his teeth and tried to breathe through the pain, so he looked around the room while listening to Virgil moving around the kitchen getting things out of cupboards.

He had to admit, this wasn’t he was expecting Virgil’s house to look like. Given his coldness and callousness towards Remus, he didn’t anticipate how… warm the house felt. The rich purple walls covered in photo frames, the tables with various textbooks on them, and the windowsills that had several plants on them. Unlike Remus’ place, these plants were alive and thriving. Seeing this side of Virgil made him realise that he wasn’t the tough, closed off guy he had always assumed him to be. He shook his head of that thought, he only came here because he was desperate, not out of any kind of sentiment. Remus began to try and assess the extent of his injuries, so he carefully placed his fingers on his face and hissed when he felt the deep wound above his eye.

Remus was so busy making his injuries worse that he didn’t realise that Virgil had come back into the room and was moving everything onto one arm so he had a hand free. He walked up behind Remus and slapped his hand away from his face. He whimpered like a lost puppy and Virgil rolled his eyes for the hundredth time since Remus turned up at his door unannounced.

Virgil dumped his arsenal of first aid equipment on the coffee table, and he sat down on the other end of the sofa while scanning Remus’ face trying to decide which cut to clean up first. Remus watched as Virgil concentrated, and how he tried not to make eye contact. He laid out everything that he needed, and Remus’ eyes widened in fear as he saw the bottle of antiseptic. Had he fallen for some kind of trap? Virgil wasn’t going to help him at all… he was going to hurt him.

“Oh, I see. You’re going to use this opportunity to torture me… tell me. How much have you dreamed of this moment?” He tried to mask the fear he felt with sarcasm, but he chastised himself due to how scared he sounded. He’s had many experiences with wounds being cleaned up, and the agony that comes with the antiseptic. Virgil was pouring it onto some gauze when Remus began to speak, and when he reached the end of his performance, Virgil stopped what he was doing and put it down carefully on the side while sighing.

“You know I have to use it to help you, you dumbass. Yes, it’s going to hurt, but I’m not going to enjoy it… what do you take me for?” He grabbed a new bit of gauze before putting the antiseptic on it once again. He took a deep breath and waited for Remus to nod reluctantly before dabbing it delicately on the cuts. The other ones were okay, Remus grit his teeth and dug his hands into the cushion next to him. When the smaller cuts were cleaned up, Virgil turned his attention to the worrying one above the eye, and despite his best efforts, Remus couldn’t help but cry out every time the gauze touched his head. He couldn’t see it because his eyes were closed, but Virgil looked at him with sympathy, regretting the fact that he was causing pain. Even though they have caused each other a significant amount of pain and injuries over the years, this was different.

“Okay. It’s done. I’ve patched up what I can, you’ll need to keep an eye on them all, especially the one above your eye… so as payment for my kindness. Tell me what the hell happened to you. Now.” It was Virgil’s turn to try and disguise the worry in his voice, but it failed. Remus heard the sincerity and sighed, this wasn’t going to be easy to admit given their history. He winced as he sat up properly but stared at the floor as Virgil waited patiently for an answer.

“I was walking home earlier tonight, I saw some of our old… friends. They were talking shit about you. Bad stuff, even by my standards. I couldn’t help it, I- I saw red and I went for them. They got me in return pretty good… but I think they got my message loud and clear.” He looked up and saw Virgil staring at him in shock, confusion danced in his eyes and Remus leant back a little, not looking forward to the response.

“This all happened… because of me?” Virgil’s breathing started to get frantic, and Remus could feel the anger coursing through Virgil. “Why the HELL would you do that?! You HATE me!! I hate you! Where the fuck was Janus?” Remus shrugged, he didn’t know how to explain why he did what he did, but the hatred he usually felt wasn’t as strong, not anymore.

“I went to him first, but Janus wasn’t home, and no fucking hospitals. We might hate each other, Virgil… but the only person who can talk shit about you is me.” He couldn’t help but smile when Virgil chuckled at the statement. It was nice to see Virgil smile, it made him feel like all of this was worth it. He looked at the clock and saw that it was already 2am, so he pushed himself off the sofa and gave Virgil a nod of appreciation. Virgil followed suit just to make sure he got down the street safe. Not that he cared… of course not. As he stepped in front of Remus to open the door, he turned back trying to work out what to say.

“You know, as mortal enemies go… you’re the best one a person could have.” Virgil shuffled his feet before looking up at Remus. They smiled at each other, lingering in the company before Remus finally made the first move and left into the night.

As he heard the door shut behind him, he felt his cheeks that were red hot. Maybe Remus didn’t hate Virgil anymore, not really. Unbeknownst to him, Virgil was leaning against his door thinking the exact same thing.

[blackberry-gingham]

I really appreciate your writing and you’ve quickly become one of my favourite tumblr pages (seriously)🧡 This feels like such a self projecting request but could I request headcannons or imagines (whichever’s works best for you) of how the lads would celebrate the reader’s birthday (it’s my birthday in a few days hehe)

*gasp* oh my gosh, thank you! And happy birthday dear, I'm so glad you're here! 🥳🥳 Since it's coming up I'm going to do this one now, I'm sure everyone waiting for requests will understand! (Thanks peeps ❤️) I hope you get this before you're birthday's passed dkdksksk but enjoy your special day!!

And now, let the festivities with the boys begin!!

---

George

Ok so we all know George is like a low key kinda guy right?

But also, really personal and sentimental!!!

So I could tooootally see him throwing you a surprise party!

It's been a long, tough day at work and you're feeling absolutely drained

One of your work friends remembered your special day today, but so far that's been the only highlight

At least you get to spend the evening with your Georgie

You unlock the front door and walk in to find the flat surprisingly dark

Strange, you thought he'd be home by now?

You sigh dejectedly

Can today get any worse?

You flip the lights on, put down your things, and kick off your shoes

Maybe what you really need is a good drink

The thought doesn't do much to lift your spirits, but you figure you'll forget about that soon enough

You round the corner to the kitchen and turn that light on as well

And as you do...

"SURPRISE!!"

All you can see is bright colors

The walls are absolutely covered in streamers and balloons, surrounding a haphazardly hung Happy Birthday sign

A few brightly wrapped packages are sitting on the table a little bit aways from a brightly frosted cake

It looks a little worse for wear, but charming none the less

And then, as though you could possibly forget, George has popped up from behind the table

He's wearing a striped party hat and a colorful tie as he gestures to his handy work

"Happy birthday love! You didn't think I forgot did you?"

You can barely speak, you're so, well, surprised!

So you forget the words. Instead you rush over to George and nearly tackle him with a hug

"Oof! Haha, so you like it then?"

You're bouncing on the balls of your feet by now as tears of happiness prick your eyes

"Oh George, I love it! Did you do all this?"

He beams proudly, "Yep! Sorry, but I lied this morning. I didn't go to the studio today, instead I was decorating and baking"

George gestures to the cake

Now that you're on the other side of it, you notice the back is missing some frosting

Before you can even ask, George scratches his scalp sheepishly, "Sorry, I got hungry... It smells pretty good at least! Good sign I'd say"

You laugh, and kiss his cheek in thanks, your awful work day long forgotten

George gives you one more big squeeze and kisses you back

"Happy Birthday love..."

He lets you go and pulls out a chair for you to sit

"Now, let's see about this cake, eh?"

You laugh again and wipe away some happy tears as George lights your candles

John

Honestly, I can't decide if John would want to do something cute and low key for you like George, or if he'd want to take you out and totally have a ball!

So on that note... Why not both?!?

I feel like John is extra enough to do something like that lmao

You wake up on the day day of your birthday in the way you least expected

Is something... Burning?

You jump out of bed and rush towards the smell. You don't even notice that John isn't in bed with you

As you hastily approach, you find that somewhere in there, something actually smells quite good...

It would seem your nose has led you to the kitchen, where the sounds of gentle sizzling and John swearing awaits you

John yelps, having burned his finger on the pan, and he sucks it, growling in frustration

"... John? What's all this?", You ask groggily

The man in question whips around, looking surprised that you're awake, as though his work in the kitchen wasn't loud as bombs

"Uh... Happy Birthday! I thought I'd make you breakfast in bed", he turns his attention to the pan and flips it's contents aggressively, "Or, try to, that is"

You smile, just glad that the house hasn't burned down (yet)

With a quiet yawn you walk up behind him and lean on his back, holding him for a hug

"I can help you know..."

"On your birthday? Absolutely not. Besides I'm nearly done"

You rub your eyes and release him

John directs you to the table to sit before he fetches two plates

When he returns, he's set out a full english in front of you. It's only a little burnt

He goes off once more to bring back the kettle and all the fixings for tea before pouring two cups

At last, he gives you a kiss and sits to eat with you

He asks how you slept and how you feel, all the niceties to help you wake up

Once you've finished your small talk session, he takes hold of the conversation for a moment

"Well, when you're done here, make sure to go get all done up and ready, I've got a whole day planned for you! First, I thought we'd go to that big mall you like and you can have whatever you want and this time I promise not to rush you. Then, I've booked a place we can go dancing and then have an early dinner. And then...!"

John jabbers on in his excitement, and you let him go, growing excited yourself

Besides, it's not everyday he's in a mood like this!

Once you've finished eating, you promise John that it was delicious, and no, it wasn't too burnt

He cleans up for you while you go off to freshen up for the day and eventually, John does the same

"Alright, ready!"

You descend the staircase while John watches, his mouth hanging agape

You're like an absolute angel, and John wonders how a guy like him got so damn lucky

John takes you into his arms and you give him a kiss

"Everything alright?"

He swallows and manages a smile

"Fine! Just fine..."

You smile knowingly and allow John to lead you out to the car

He opens your door and then takes you on your little adventure

Astonishingly, John keeps his word, and is on best behavior while you enjoy your time in and out of your favorite stores

He even carries your bags for you

When you get to the dancing next, it's absolutely magical

The ballroom is beautiful and you feel like royalty as John spins you around and around, waltzing through the evening

And finally, the long awaited dinner is excellent

Nearly as good as the special birthday dessert John gets for you both to share

Paul

Now I know here on this blog we've had some discussion on Paul's love language

And I think we've settled on some mix of gift giving and words of affirmation

So he'd DEFINITELY have to incorporate that in his celebration of your birthday!

And what better way to express that then with music!!!

It seems for months at least Paul has been absolutely consumed with work

Whenever you see him, he's pening sheet music or writing lyric ideas in his notebook

You figure he's working hard on an upcoming album, so you think nothing of it, only reminding him to rest now and again

But... As the day of your birthday comes closer, you're feeling a bit worried

Of course, you don't want to pull him away from his work, especially if it's so urgent it's got him this busy!

And yet, this is a rather special day and you'd hate to spend it without your beloved boyfriend

He hasn't had much time for you lately, after all...

However, you say nothing on the matter, not wanting to make him feel pressured either way

And when the moment of truth comes, Paul comes through!

You wake up to kisses and a simple but tasty breakfast

Paul seems as though he can hardly sit still while you enjoy your food

"Are you alright?", you suppress a laugh

"Me? Fine! I just, I have something for you when you're done there... It's downstairs!"

"Oh?", you laugh and finish up quickly, curious to find your surprise

When you're all done, Paul takes your hand and leads you after him down and around to living room

He takes you up to the record player and hands you a small, wrapped square

"Go on!"

You unwrap it carefully

Our falls a little birthday love note written in Paul's writing and a 45 record

The note explains that this is a special song his written just for you, and only you

This 45 was pressed just for you, he even had it colored your favorite color, rather then the standard plain old black

You turn to him with a tear in your eye after reading the touching note

"Is this what you've been working on all this time?"

Paul laughs and holds you close

"It is! I wanted to make sure it was my finest work for you! Just in time too, you've no idea how sick and tired the lads are of me asking for their feedback"

He laughs again, then gives you a kiss

"Well go on then, put it on!"

You do, and he's absolutely right

This is his finest work

Better then please, please me

Better then a hard days night

Even better then she loves you

The song is longer then your average little Beatles' song. It has all of Paul's romantic, boyish charm to it, sharpened and honed by the feedback and refinements of all the other three

It's sweet and slow and sentimental and it has no right being as wonderfully amazing as it is

Paul rushes off to bring you some tissues, as tears trickle down your cheeks

He dries them for you and consoles you with that old charming smile while the song comes to a close

"Now hold on, there's something on the back!"

Paul flips the record over and some birthday wishes from all four of them play before a silly rendition of happy birthday closes the b side out

You're absolutely speechless and Paul is so happy just to know that you love it

He takes you out for dinner that night and when you're done, you come back home for cake and champagne

And after that is all said and done, Paul puts on your record and the two of you slow dance the night away

Ringo

Honestly, Ringo's birthday plans were the first to come to mind, they're that strong lol

He'd want you to have as much fun as possible!!

Of course sweet stuff like dinner and dancing and all that is nice, but...

Well, Ringo thinks your birthday should be a celebration of living and having lived, and what better way to do that then some good old fun!

He is the king of light hearted and high energy after all lol

On the morning of your birthday, Ringo is excited practically from the second his eyelids open

You weren't expecting to be awoken to the sound of your boyfriend chanting your name as he jumps on you to get you up, but here you are

"Wake up, wake up! Happy Birthday!"

He flops down to give you a kiss and hug

Although you're quite groggy, you can't find it in yourself to be mad

You chuckle and wrap your arms around him, "Good morning, Ritchie"

"Oh, uh that too"

He kisses you again, and cuddles with you until you're properly awake

Once you're ready to get up, the two of you journey to the kitchen and make breakfast together

You make pancakes, and it's a wonder there's enough left for cooking and consuming, considering how much batter you wasted tasting it and smearing it on each other

Honestly, you don't even want to get started on the flower absolutely coating your PJs, hair, and the floor

Even as you sit to eat, Ringo's mop top is dusted white and stuck with small clumps of batter

You don't mean to, but you can't help but burst into laughter at the sight of him

Ringo tosses some blueberries at you with a sour look, and you return fire with a dash of whipped cream on his nose

At that, he joins you, adding his deep, goofy laughter in contrast to your soft voice

At last you manage to eat in peace and when you're both satisfied, you decide to leave the dishes and the mess for another time

For now, you have a birthday to celebrate!

You both shower and change into some casual attire

"Ready?"

"Ready!"

Ringo sprints outside with you in tow

He takes you to the bus stop explaining his plans for the day

And that would be... Whatever you want!

You ride into town and look high and low through the little shops for some excitement

Nothing too interesting catches your eye, and so you head over to the park instead

It's a beautiful day out, and Ringo holds your hand while you walk the trail

But suddenly, he stops and turns to you

"You're it!", he taps your shoulder and tears off before you can react

"Oh no you don't!"

You follow right on his heels though the lush grass, the sun warm on your hair shoulders

At last, you make one more lunge to grab him and end up tackling him in the process

With a shriek of surprise, you fall to the ground with him, rolling through the fragrant grass

You roll your last and find yourself splayed out on his chest

For a moment, you're worried he's hurt, but Ringo bursts into a fit of laughter beneath you

"Ya got me!"

He pulls you closer and you rest in the patch of sunlight together, breathless from the chase

Once you've caught your breath, you both return to town

Ringo has a bit more fun in mind before the day's over however

He takes you to the roller rink, and despite his lack of cordination, you both have a blast

Afterwards, he takes you to an ice cream parlor and you both get floats and a sundae to share

He takes you out to dinner after a bit more walking and when you return home he sings you happy birthday and you have some cake too

You cap off the night with an absolute sugar rush and dance the night away to all kinds of swing records and jazz music

When you've finally exhausted yourselves, you pass out on the couch and cuddle each other to sleep