#meanwhile me and my folder of wips

[mx-myth]

Okay so I've had some meta thoughts about Laurence's amnesia and how it relates to his relationship with Tharkay sitting in my drafts for like over a year now so I figured I'd finally clean it up and post it. Heads up it's really long.

Laurence finally consciously realises that he loves Tharkay (or is in love with him, whatever nuance you'd like) after "knew him, and knew himself." But at this point he's completely in pieces as a person (more on this next paragraph). Post-amnesia, he's an entirely different man. Pre-Temeraire Laurence is the harshest, strictest version both of and with himself. He follows the rules to the letter, basically takes Temeraire only out of duty in the beginning, and even keeps the promise between him and Edith despite there being no formal arrangement at all. Post-Temeraire but pre-amnesia Laurence has softened. He's putting less emphasis on the rules and more on his morals (see: treason). He has more leeway but still carries that honor/duty/order with himself.

Which is why post-amnesia Laurence is the version of himself that discovers that he loves Tharkay. In the wake of losing his memories and then regaining them he's lost and unmoored. Both of his past selves are so different and therefore so distant. They're both true but it's too jarring for him - especially in his current circumstances, much less the overall war - so Laurence becomes a new person. This is Laurence at his most vulnerable, his most unguarded, who smiles more often now because he doesn't really know that he didn't smile that much before. He has two major tethers to his personhood: Temeraire and Tharkay (I hesitate to say only tethers, simply because Laurence's life isn't that small, but repeatedly these two are the ones who have had the biggest impact on his life, who have kept him going). Obviously he loves Temeraire, he's never going to stop loving Temeraire, he just isn't capable of it, but seeing Temeraire didn't bring back his memories (I can't imagine how Temeraire must have felt, meeting a version of Laurence who had never met him). Laurence loves Temeraire in the most unconditional, selfless way - to be very Greek about it, his philia. But I think when he finally comprehends how Tharkay was the catalyst behind this radical change of his self he dives into his memories again and goes over them in excruciating detail (and he was definitely doing that already, but now he's doing it with a lens exclusively focused on Tharkay). At some point he comes to the realisation that Tharkay loves him, and that he loves him, and that he's been unconsciously shoving it down every time it's surfaced (past-Laurence was saying no homo while actively homo-ing). And with the benefit of being an new version of the same person (and also some hindsight, finally), this Laurence says, I've committed treason. My country sees me as a traitor but they still need me to serve them as a tool. I lost myself once in a war (see: "what are you doing?") that's still being fought. Time is short and there's no guarantee I won't lose my memories again, that I will still be the person I am right now. What do I have to lose?

(And on some level, this Laurence thinks, what can stop me?)

He begins giving to Tharkay what Tharkay always had given to him. His acts of devotions start small (relative to Tharkay's; transporting too many ferals is obviously a little outside of what Laurence can feasibly do). He cares for Tharkay once he wakes ("have you noticed the top of your head appears likely to come off?"), he helps him eat and drink, he massages his hands once they heal, he stays with him through the nightmares that come to haunt him. And he continues doing these little things for Tharkay, hoping that he understands (he's willing to wait, Tharkay waited for him after all, and Laurence doesn't want to push him, especially as he's healing). But I think the act that hits Tharkay like, oh, it's different this time is when Laurence bargains his freedom to Napoleon. I feel like that carries unspeakable meaning for Tharkay, who was ostracized growing up and ended up never having a "permanent" home since he travelled so much. I can't imagine that he hasn't been in a similar situation before, but he's probably always been expected to weasel his way out of it without any outside help. He's trained himself out of expecting someone to help him, to care enough about him to save him. Yet part of the man who turned to treason simply so the dragons of France wouldn't die in pain lives on in this Laurence. Pre-Temeraire Laurence is rules and post-Temeraire pre-amnesia Laurence is morals, but post-amnesia Laurence is all heart. There was never a way he was going to leave Tharkay behind.

So Tharkay starts watching him. He watches Laurence continue to devote himself to him, again and again. He brings him his coat on cold days. When it rains and their scars ache he curls around his hands and rubs lotion into them. When he goes into town he always brings Tharkay back a little gift. He starts growing vegetables in the garden and he learns how to cook non-wartime foods and how to knit (because he is a man forged by war and what does one even do during peacetime when one's dragon is busy reforming the government, anyway?) and suddenly he's providing for Tharkay like never before. He looked away for one moment and suddenly Laurence's prescence and all that he does has made the manor a home.

Yet Tharkay, for years, has told himself so many times that Laurence is off-limits, untouchable, that he can love him but that there's no chance that Laurence will love him back. The only way he can love Laurence is silently, nearly from afar, and so he tried to do that. But he can't just stand by and so every time he finds himself committing a deux ex Tharkay (see: ferals, again). He understands that there's some shit Laurence needs to learn himself (and god is this series very good about character development for Laurence) but he's not going to do nothing when the man in about to die. For him it's about caring and providing for Laurence even if he doesn't know it. He learns to content himself with the knowledge that, even if nothing comes of it, he can still be by Laurence's side.

But then the amnesia plot happens (which he only learns of after all of it goes down) and suddenly there is a half-stranger wearing the skin of the man he loves (loved, he tells himself) looking at him with those familiar blue eyes filled with a completely unfamiliar emotion. He's relieved that Laurence remembers but he's said that his Laurence is gone that he's even thinking of it like that (Tharkay has a lot of anger, both at himself and others and the world). Laurence is right in front of him, he's not gone at all, but he's gone in a way that matters. But also this new Laurence is by his side all the time. He's feeding him and helping him drink and dress and he sleeps on the floor by his bedside. Tharkay is so confused because this has to be some kind of fantasy dream he's having. He must still be in the cave (and it's believable that he is, because he returns there every night in his dreams). But he isn't and he has to struggle to come to terms with this new Laurence.

So every time Laurence does something even remotely nice he hyper-analyses it and rationalizes it to himself. He deludes himself into thinking that this is normal for Laurence now. It's normal for Laurence to fuss and hen over him now; it's normal for him to smile at him with that emotion written plainly on his face that Tharkay still hasn't (refuses) to decipher. And he does this well into post-canon.

For that reason he only gets with the program when Laurence has to leave the manor (leave home) for a long while (probably with Temeraire) and suddenly Tharkay is all alone in this huge manor. He's wearing the socks Laurence knitted for him and eating food Laurence grew and walking into rooms and seeing little parts of him scattered everywhere. There's a novel he's reading left on the table by the chair he prefers in the library. There's a cookbook in the kitchen in which he's bookmarked recipes he thinks he might like. Tharkay finds a handwritten list of things they need to buy in town left out for him. He left his pillows on Tharkay's bed because he knows he likes sleeping with a ton of pillows (and they smell like him, and Tharkay pretends he doesn't bury his face in him, that he doesn't miss him while he's gone). When Tharkay wakes up in the morning he makes two cups of tea and waits for Laurence to come in from talking with Temeraire before remembering that neither of them are here (home). He expects Laurence to appear in the evenings to ask if he wants to go on a walk through the grounds with him (and he always ends up saying yes). Tharkay learns that the manor is too big for one man who has always been a little too lonely in his life.

So until Laurence returns home he plots and plans and agonizes. After a week once Laurence has come home (and the first thing he had said to him was welcome home, and Laurence had beamed at him, and it was so unbelievably natural to say it) Tharkay begins his attempts at reciprocating. He wakes up earlier so that he can brew Laurence tea so he can take it out to sit with Temeraire. He says that he cooked some of the recipes from Laurence's cookbook and insists on making them for Laurence (he had to figure out his system of marking which recipes were Laurence's favourites). He gifts him a sturdy, functional, and beautifully crafted knife to wear around the house for daily use; he specifically makes sure the knife is up to Temeraire's standards. In fact, Tharkay talks to Temeraire about everything, and Temeraire tells him, with no minced words while completely drawing his own conclusions, that it's very nice that Tharkay is asking him for his blessing, but does he really need it at this point? Haven't they been courting long enough? He's always approved of Tharkay, because he makes Laurence happy.

That's how Tharkay realises he and Laurence have been dancing around each other like shy birds, both of them subtly showing off but not making the first move. And maybe he realises that Laurence is thinking how he used to think - that it's okay as long as he can be by his side, that he doesn't need his love reciprocated (it's a very long chain of Tharkay loving Laurence, Laurence knowing Tharkay loves him and loving him back, and Tharkay loving Laurence and knowing he knows he loves him and loves him back). And of course Tharkay wasn't going to make the first move back then, and if Laurence hasn't by now, then maybe he should borrow some of Temeraire's courage.

It's something small. The words come later, given how action-forward both Laurence and Tharkay are. They don't even need words. Maybe Tharkay takes Laurence's hand during dinner and intertwines their fingers, maybe he touches Laurence's cheek after he's braided his hair as their eyes meet in the mirror, maybe as they pack away the port and piquet he kisses him good night. Whatever it is, they look at each other and simply know. Tharkay sees Laurence slowly start to smile, a huge one that spreads across his entire face, one that he's only seen on Laurence when he thinks he's alone with Temeraire. He seems to brighten, almost radiating light.

For his part, Laurence reciprocates. He squeezes Tharkay's hand, he turns his cheek into Tharkay's touch, he pulls him in for another kiss. He watches as something seems to drop from Tharkay, something that he hadn't even known he was carrying. He becomes loose and relaxed, his body language more open as he looks at Laurence with one of his little smiles, a bit of shyness that he's never seen before evident on his face. He tells Tharkay that he's the most beautiful person he's ever seen.

[havnoh]

I've been trying really hard to write a second chapter for the fic I posted about 2 weeks ago and I just don't feel like I can get the pacing right. I really want to write it because I really want to explore all the grief and loss Boimler feels at losing his clone and Tendi going off to Orion but I don't feel like I know how to get to that point naturally.

I'm still gonna keep at it. Surely if I ram my head against this brick wall enough times something's gonna happen, right?

[kcscribbler]

So I've been tentatively edging my way back into the ACD Holmes fandom at a glacier-like pace, in an effort to recapture a muse a decade forgotten. Looking for bookverse SH fans to follow, feel free to like this post or point me at them.

Meanwhile, have the poem I wrote waaaay back when, for The Empty House anthology, and then promptly forgot about until going through my WIP folder.

Cadenced scales and chords discordant Coaxed from strings, more scrape than tune Partner with the darkling twilight Shrouding all in fog-wreathed moon.

Softly now the lamp-light flickers Casting ‘cross that pensive face Shadows which betray the darkest Perils of the human race.

A child’s hope, a father’s burden A gracious lady’s firm behest – But L’art pour l’art, because the Master Is not swayed by wealth or crest.

But then! The tuneful musing halts As convoluted lies take flight. Sophistry and misconception Must give way before the Light.

Truth is Light, and his Conductor Unassuming, strong, discreet – Stalwart friend and chronicler, he Guards the sleuth of Baker Street.

Scarlet studies, Games and madmen Speckled bands but one close call. Valleys change from Fear to Shadows Heralding the Final Fall.

An Empty House stands still and silent Monument to genius gone; But no true hero lies forgotten While a chronicler lives on.

[the-obnoxious-sibling]

Do you have aby more shuggy ship headcanons?

Do you to prefer to ship them as having childhood crush or to become involved after meeting again in the future?

i think if there’s anything this last month has taught me, it’s that i am not running out of shuggy headcanons any time soon. 🙃 every single day for the last thirty-three days i have written about these two, either meta posted here or fic written a/o posted elsewhere.

actually, here. pick a file from my shuggy wips folder, and i’ll share a few fun facts or an excerpt, your choice! (this offer is open to anyone, btw, not just this anon in particular)

as to your second question: i vacillate on that, honestly!

on one hand: i like it when two characters are very, very close in a way they have no reason to think is anything but platonic—until abruptly they aren’t anymore. years pass. they make other friends, have lovers, and then, unexpectedly reunited, suddenly have context for the way they felt. looking at someone you last saw when you were fifteen and realizing, oh, the feelings i had for you back then were not friendly—i go absolutely nuts for this. emotional constipation, oblivious pining, whatever you want to call it… especially when they realize those feelings never really went away? and now they have to deal with them?? *chef’s kiss*

on the other hand: kid shanks seems to be fairly emotionally competent? i don’t think he always understands other people super well (especially when, like buggy, they’re trying to hide their feelings from him), but i think he understands himself alright. in which case he absolutely knows he’s got a crush. he’s so affectionate, so clingy… i think he’s got that “i don’t want to ruin our friendship” mindset, though, so he doesn’t pursue buggy. he’s content to just always be at his side.

meanwhile kid buggy’s too caught up in his inferiority complex to recognize any other possible source for his feelings. like, yeah, of course shanks is this bright shining person blinding everyone around him with his brilliance! obviously!! it's very rude of him to do that, i’m trying to shine over here too! what do you mean other people don't see him like that?!

on the mutant third hand: there’s something very funny about taking the complex relationship shanks and buggy have as kids → teens, saying, “okay, that dynamic was weird, not gonna lie, but 100% platonic” and then throwing an “oh no, he got hot” wrench into the works when they reunite as adults.

[aethersea]

📓!

There’s an atla au of star wars that I have tried so hard to bend into a shape that I can actually write, but alas, all I have are ideas. This is the one that’s in the wips folder as Everything Changed when the Clones Attacked, which is ironic bc I cannot for the life of me figure out what to do with the clones. Maybe they’re being brainwashed at Lake Laogai? Or something???

Anyway. The story has two parts, prequels and sequels. Details under the cut, because this got a bit long.

In the prequels, the elderly Master Yoda of the airbenders is Avatar, and in his old age he’s stopped traveling the world and instead dispenses his wisdom from one of the great Air Nomad temples, nestled deep in the mountains where only Air Nomads can reach. He’s unofficial leader of the council of Air Nomad elders, which is….not great, really, not how things should be, but it’s mostly been okay. He’s been a good avatar overall, and it’s only in later years that he’s leaned so heavily toward the Air Nomads, and really none of this is enough to push the four peoples truly out of balance. 

Our story starts with Qui-gon Jinn, an airbending master traveling with his apprentice, helping a besieged queen from a minor Earth Kingdom escape her city. (I saw a post once asserting that the Earth Kingdom is actually a collection of largely autonomous kingdoms that all loosely recognize the authority of the Earth King in Ba Sing Se, and I like that a lot, so that’s the worldbuilding I’m going with here.) Qui-gon agrees to take Queen Amidala to the Avatar’s council to beg their aid. 

Along the way, they encounter a young boy living with his mother. The boy can do a bit of earthbending—and also a bit of waterbending, and a bit of airbending, and a bit of firebending. Which is impossible, because Avatar Yoda isn’t dead, but there he is, bending all the elements anyway.

I don’t think there’s slavery in the atla universe, but we could probably get away with indentured servitude of some kind, and Qui-gon acquires Ani in much the same way as he does in canon. He takes him to Avatar Yoda—and Yoda rejects him. Says, essentially, “This is weird as hell but it’s also not my problem.” (Frankly I can’t come up with an actual good reason for Yoda to do that, but just go with me here.) So Qui-gon angrily responds that if the Avatar won’t take responsibility, he will, and then gets himself enmeshed in Amidala’s political problems to boot. 

And then he dies.

Something something evil emperor, yadda yadda you know the drill. (Though I think the empire isn’t going to be the Fire Nation, despite the thematic appropriateness of fire spreading unchecked to consume all in its path. Palpatine is gonna usurp the Earth King, I think, and I do feel the prequels’ themes around entrenched systems with deep flaws, which are too big to fight as individuals and too implacable to change, will fit well with atla themes around earth.)

The sequels portion of things is even less plotted out. All I know is that Luke grows up in the same nameless patch of Earth territory his father grew up in, and he doesn’t actually discover he can waterbend until he’s practically an adult. It’s a shock to everyone—except, somehow, weird Old Ben who lives in the desert, who tells him that the next Avatar is supposed to be a waterbender, and won’t explain why he’s so convinced Luke is that Avatar given that he’s pretty emphatically not from the Water Tribes. 

Luke is finally convinced when he manages to airbend, under Old Ben’s suspiciously skilled tutelage. He can’t pull off any other elements, though, so they go off on a road trip to that swamp where you see spirits, to try to reach the past Avatars and get some guidance.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to both of them, Leia has grown up knowing she can firebend. This is kind of an alarming skill for the princess of an Earth Kingdom to have, and even more alarming given that she’s already an earthbender. So she’s kept it secret, and no one but her parents has ever known.

They can meet in some way analogous to the Death Star raid in A New Hope, idk I have zero plot in mind here. The point, as far as I’m concerned, is that the Skywalkers have fundamentally broken the Avatar cycle. Anakin shouldn’t exist, and yet he does, and he was born while Yoda was still alive. If he hadn’t existed, the next Avatar would be a waterbender, and that’s Luke—except he’s from the Earth Kingdom. If Anakin is a true Avatar, then the next one would be an earthbender, and that’s Leia—only then she shouldn’t have been born until after Anakin’s death. Nothing makes sense! Even Yoda and all the other past Avatars together have no goddamn clue what is going on!

Imagine their consternation when they discover that neither Luke nor Leia is the Avatar: it’s actually both of them together. Luke has air and water, Leia has earth and fire; Luke can visit the spirit world and be the bridge between humans and spirits, and Leia can speak to kings and maintain the balance between the four nations. The two of them, together, can defeat their father, defeat the emperor, and restore harmony to the world.

[dcbbw]

WIP Wishlist 2024

Hello tumblrs , and Happy March 2020-4! I’m still waiting for the new year to actually feel like a new year instead of a continuum of the year before it. Can anyone else relate? 

At the very beginning of the year, while battling a never-ending case of RSV, I saw posts here about people’s writing resolutions and goals for this year. Me? I have a wish list of stories I want to start, continue, and/or finish. I will still be writing original stories, but thinking this may be the year I settle down and write/publish my own Great American Novel. We’ll see.  

Meanwhile, below is a glimpse of what immediately came to mind when I thought to put this together. Where applicable, snippets will be posted. As usual, everything is in states of rough drafts and flux, and final publication may vary from what you read here.  

Newbies:  

These are stories that are in the creation conception stage; ideas, thoughts, some words.  

The False Queen 

A long ago battle between the True Queen (Ravika/Riley) and her usurper (Magda/Madeleine) resumes during the Cordonian Social Season. Think Xena, Warrior Princess with some time travel thrown in. 

Untitled 

An unlikely pair (Justin/Anton x Kiara) finds love during the Engagement Tour. But with Anton having other plans in mind, the path to happily ever after is anything but smooth.  

Wolves and Sheep 

Combining my Riam, Anton, and Secrets of Cordonia AUs, this is the story of the trial of Anton Severus.  

At the prosecutor’s table sits the Duchy’s High Counsel and Lord Rashad Domvallier. Folders and papers are stacked neatly on the table while the men converse quietly as they type on laptop keyboards.  

The defense attorneys sit at a table across the aisle from them: a statuesque blonde woman wearing a gray pantsuit and an African man in a pinstriped three-piece navy suit. The woman is reviewing a document, her pen occasionally scribbling on the paper. The man is speaking in hushed tones into his cellphone. 

Security is omnipresent: King’s Guards work and stand side-by-side with the local constabulary and guardians of the Court.  

A side door swings open; two guards, followed by the defendant and two additional sentries enter. The guards part, allowing the public its first glimpse of Anton Severus in over five years. The quiet of the courtroom is broken by rustling and whispering as everyone strains forward. Members of the Cordonian Court are no exception.  

A sneer of disdain twists the mouth of the Duchess of Lythikos, Anton’s ex-wife. Her fingertips unconsciously begin rubbing the area on her abdomen where his dagger tore her flesh. 

The King leans forward intently, his dark-ebony eyes hard as obsidian. His expression is stoic, betraying nothing. 

The Queen is sitting ramrod straight, her eyes wide. “Holy FUCK, he’s hot!” she murmured. “I could make that man a King.” 

Without breaking his gaze on his nemesis, the King lightly slaps her thigh, causing his wife to frown at him. “I said what I said,” she hisses. “I did it for you, I can do it for him.” 

“I was royal long before I met you, and King when I married you,” Liam reminds her in a slightly reproving tone, his eyes still fixed on Anton. 

“There you go, twisting the narrative,” Riley huffs as she reaches for her husband’s hand. He readily allows her to hold it. 

Affairiage 

I thought I was making Leo Rys and Savannah Walker leads in my version of Same Time Next Year, but it appears I’m doing a fanfic of 28 Summers 

Heartland 

Back in the Year 500 BC, I came up with the idea of a late 1950s period piece featuring the TRR crew, and promptly never said another word about it:  

Well, cauldrons are beginning to bubble, and plans are being made to rework plot and premise to turn this into an anthology series set in the American Midwest during an era where Dick Clark reigned, Jim Crow ruled, and innocence began to lose its bloom.   

Sixteen Candles 

Another story that popped into my brain and left just as quickly. But thoughts of Drake Walker as Jake Ryan and Liam as Long Duck Dong are back and this time, I don’t think they’re going anywhere. 

Small Town Secrets 

This was originally titled Life in a Southern Town aka The Political AU and was going to follow the political campaigns of five mayoral candidates: Riley Brooks, the incumbent; her ex-husband Liam Rys (they still live together in the same house and co-parent their two daughters), a former state senator; Madeleine, District A councilmember; Leo Rys, the dark horse candidate; and Drake Walker, Riley’s former (?) lover who calls her a demon and a plague on the town.  

However, life events and imagination are collaborating, and I am repurposing the story to include political intrigue, hidden secrets, and humor in inappropriate places.  

Debating if this will be a Great American Novel nominee, and whether to use OCs versus the usual cast of characters.  

Little Nobles 

A (somewhat) light-hearted look at the childhoods of my favorite noble gang, along with the friendships and rivalries between their parents. 

In Progress: 

Stories that are nagging me to write them/finish them 

City Girl, Country Boy 

Tis the season, and Liam finds himself alone on holiday in Manhattan where he runs across an old friend. 

From the corner of my eye, I glimpse height and dark wool; hands stuffed in pockets. Perfectly combed dark hair and Asiatic features on a half-shadowed face. I mentally shake my head as I continue walking. It’s been over a decade since we last laid eyes on each other; there’s no way it’s him.  

I’m disappointed that after all this time, I still search for his face in the crowd, that I still hope he will pursue me despite the different trajectories our lives have taken. My steps are quicker as I pass apartment buildings, skyscrapers, and storefronts gaily decorated in the theme of the season. Street vendors hawk bootleg wares  

I’m nearing Canal Street subway when I hear running footsteps behind me. Automatically, I step to aside, so I don’t get barreled over but the steps slow as they near me.  

“Excuse me, miss,” a familiar baritone says, and I stop walking.  

It can’t be.  

I haven’t heard that voice in 12 years, but I don’t need to look to know who it is. I turn anyway so my ears and eyes can be in agreement. I am hoping my expression is neutral despite my insides being a squirrel in traffic.  

He hasn’t changed.  

His hair is still black with that streak of gray on the side; his face still unlined. Or maybe the New York night softens his years. He wears a custom-tailored, black wool coat; his wingtips are so polished, I see the streetlamps reflected in them. His cologne is subtle and not the one I remember. He still exudes confidence despite the smidgen of uncertainty in his eyes.  

Me on the other hand, I am now more TJ Maxx and Macy’s clearance rack than Louboutin. I don’t smell expensive; more like affordable. My trench coat is … vintage, and long overdue for a dry cleaning. My shoes are a dull matte black, scuffed from traversing streets and subways.  

“It is you.” I hear his disbelieving whisper despite the throng of people impatiently jostling past us. 

The Odd Couples 

It’s throwback DC AU gang, all mixed up: Liam x Liv; Drake x Madeleine; Leo x Riley; Max x Penelope 

The couple was in Baltimore for the weekend, attending a costume party thrown by Liv’s employer. There had been a buffet, open bar, and a prize for the best costume. Which Liam and Olivia did not win; Carlos Santiago, a member of the Environmental Services team, along with his wife and three children came costumed as birds and bees and won the prize.  

Liam and Liv were The Ricardos: Olivia’s red hair was done up in Lucy’s signature poodle hairstyle, and her dress was a dead ringer for the world’s most famous housewife’s iconic frock. He had wanted to wear a tuxedo and carry a conga drum but settled for Ricky’s purple polka dot silk smoking jacket with shawl collar, black pants, and black velvet slippers.  

“I can’t believe we didn’t win!” Liam muttered beneath his breath as he came behind Olivia, arms encircling her waist; his palms splayed against her flat, toned stomach. She responded by leaning against him, her back pressed against his chest.  

“Don’t hate!” she admonished. “With those Korean features and Boston accent, no way were you a convincing Cuban band leader. Besides, you have to admit the birds and the bees is a pretty creative idea.” 

“Not more creative than my SOCK GAME! I mean, Liv … you gotta admit, it’s damn good tonight!” 

He was wearing black, knee-length socks with red hearts inscribed with “I Love Lucy” scattered all over.  

Olivia rolled her eyes in exasperation at the mention of his sock game. 

This man and his socks! He thought his sock game could cure cancer and bring about world peace. 

“You’re sock game is great as it always is, darling. But it was a costume contest,” Olivia placated in a soothing tone as his fingers began removing bobby pins from her hair.  

She spun around, facing her boyfriend. Her hair fell in soft curls that framed her face. Her green eyes twinkled as she pressed a quick kiss against his lips.  

“You big, spoiled baby,” she teased. “Wanna smoke? I brought a couple of blunts along.” 

Quickly, he shook his head. “No way am I going to be in BALTIMORE off some loud.” 

Alienation of Affection 

An installment of my Gritty City AU loosely based on true events where sneaky links and self-loathing collide. Reader discretion will be advised. 

Caught 

Inspired by a keysmash-filled convo with @ao719, a twist on the night of the Engagement Ball 

This is her first admission of guilt and/or wrongdoing our entire time together.  

She has no choice.  

I attempt a deep inhale, but my chest is too tight.  

The wedding is in one week. Tonight was our engagement gala.  

“Yes, Liam yes!!! A THOUSAND TIMES, yes!” 

I caught her … them … in the act. The woman I love madly, truly, deeply and the man I trust more than anything in the world.  

I manage to choke out a single question. “Why?” 

Her shoulders slump as her head falls forward, causing her hair to cover her profile. “It hasn’t been going on long; it started on the Engagement Tour. I told him in Vegas that what we had would have to end.” 

I watched her leave the stag party arm-in-arm with Drake Walker. My best friend, with whom Riley wanted to have a fling. She swore it was a one-time affair; she was too much in love with me, but she wished to satisfy her curiosity.  

I attempted to leave first, but I was not only one of the honorees, I was also King.  

Per traditional protocol, the King is the last to leave.  

So I remained behind, drinking copious amounts of American liquor, making small talk in a loud voice so as to be heard over noisy music, and dancing with women I had previously rejected.  

All while Riley spent the night with another man. 

“But it hasn’t,” I interrupt harshly. 

Based on Tumblr Events:  

Untitled Song Rewrite 

Based on Jill Scott’s Epiphany 

Sisters Someone 

A two-part story that brings together Sloane Washington and Kiara Theron for their respective appreciation weeks (hosted by @lizzybeth1986) 

Untarnished Silver 

For King Liam Appreciation Week (KLAW), a look at 25 years of the rule and reign of Cordonia’s favorite King 

The Grand Ballroom in the Palace’s West Wing had been completely transformed into an elegant banquet hall:  

Buffet tables filled with steaming trays of foods catered from two of Cordonia’s newest and most critically acclaimed restaurants: The Little Lamb, and its sister eatery The Commoner’s Crown, were conveniently placed next to open bars throughout the humongous room.  

Tables were covered with white linen cloths and topped with floral centerpieces of irises, Peruvian lilies, and magnolias in silver vases. The flowers represented congratulations and longevity, sentiments that had been expressed repeatedly to the King and his family during the tour.  

Balloon bouquets colored silver and cream floated near the ornate ceiling, as well as being tied to chairbacks. Dining tables strategically ringed the room, affording the 1,500 attendees a full view of the stage and podium. Life-sized photographs hung from brocaded walls, capturing moments of the King’s life:  

Accepting the Crown Princeship one week to the day his brother Leo abdicated.  

Coronation night, wearing the King’s crown, royal robes, and holding the family scepter.  

Feeding ducks at Lake Fabian with his mother.  

He and Riley’s engagement portrait.  

Their wedding day, mouths opened in laughter with their faces covered in cake and frosting.  

In a dressing gown, his back to the camera and face in profile as he held one of his sons in his arms. 

Atop a horse with a frown of concentration on his face, playing in a charity polo match, the camera catching his mallet mid-swing. 

Speaking with Chancellor Merkel at a summit, a half-smile on his face as they looked down at a document, his index finger pointing to something on the paper. 

He and Riley dancing at their 20th wedding anniversary party, her face nuzzled against his neck while his lips hovered above her ear. 

A funny family portrait, complete with exaggerated poses and expressions. 

The Couple Next Door 

A reworking of the 2005 action comedy hit, Mr. & Mrs. Smith 

Final Cut 

Based on the first three chapters of a Round Robin hosted by @choicesprompts 

Bertrand Beaumont turned off the microphone before shuffling, then paper-clipping his index cards. He glanced up briefly to see the group filing out of the hotel’s ballroom; a curious expression crossed his face when he saw a few laggers approach others, striking up conversations.  

What have I gotten myself into? 

Starting a public relations firm had seemed a great idea a year ago. With the Duke’s diverse background in fashion, finance, and political legalities, coupled with his penchant for decorum and obsession with appearances, it had seemed a no-brainer. 

Savannah was his operations manager, responsible for events logistics and administrative support. Justin Severus was his right-hand person; he had done a marvelous job restoring the Queen’s reputation after the unfortunate incident at Applewood.  

He stepped from behind the podium and briskly made his way off the dais, looking down at his watch as he strode through the room. Looking back up, he saw Justin leaning against a wall, waiting for him at the elevator bank. The closer Bertrand approached his deputy, a wide smile spread across Justin’s face.  

“You were great!” he greeted the Duke. “You kept the rowdies in line and gave them just enough to pique their curiosity.” 

 Bertrand pushed the call button. “This group is not what I was expecting. South American overlords. Hollywood has-beens and wanna-bes. AMERICANS! We’re going to need to double-check the mentor list again.” 

Bertrand had postponed the mentor/mentee matchup because it was not yet finalized.  

“It’s a hella group, for certain. The subject of an international child custody case, a lawsuit-riddled doctor, disgraced C-suite executive, Leo, Trystan, Olivia, a scandal-ladened starlet, America’s Sweethearts, Princess Marguerite, and Duke Dick.” 

Bertrand gave Justin a withering glance. “DO NOT engage in intercourse with the Princess!” he warned.  

“Too late,” Justin smirked.  

Bertrand shook his head before commenting again. “The Selection Committee must have been drunk when they approved their choices. Have the other members of Court arrived?” 

The elevator arrived and the gentlemen boarded. Justin’s index finger punched their floor number as he shook his head.  

“Not yet. A storm is coming in, waves are choppy. They should be here by 4, and that will be the last ferry into and out of the Isle until Monday morning.” 

Bertrand mulled over the information. “At least we don’t have to worry about anyone sneaking off.” 

Finish Them:  

So these are stories that are soooo close to completion, but I am on the fence with two of them; the others, not sure why they are still sitting around gathering dust.  

House of Cards 

Based on the international phenomenon Squid Games, this is the backstory of “The Salesman”. On the fence about this story, and more so about posting this one in the fandom. 

On this, the night of Day 2, the remaining participants were playing yet another “game”: Pillow Fight.  

Innocent sounding enough.  

Except everyone knew there would be a deadly twist, and all wanted to be alive in the morning. After realizing that this was a game to the death; overcoming the initial shock of a robotic doll the size of a fully grown tree whose eyes were infra-red cameras, and learning elimination meant certain demise … partners had already become opposition.  

Player 081 inadvertently set the match to the fuse. No one knew if it was intentional. No one cared. 

The middle-aged man, who was less than 48 hours into a dry drunk, muttered “fuck” under his breath as he stood on his top tier bunk in an attempt to press his palm against the glass pig’s underbelly.  

No one was sure why.  

Was he trying to steal the bank’s treasure? Or turn off the irritating light? 

 It no longer mattered.  

The money wasn’t his and now, it never would be. 

As pillowcases filled with objects such as rocks, sturdy tree branches, and in some …mere feathers randomly swung wildly, the white cotton slowly seeped red. Hollers and screams filled the room and echoed off walls and ceilings as beds collapsed from metal bars being snatched by the frenzied mob or being tipped over in the melee.  

On the other side of the bunker, a thin, petite woman who looked no older than a teenager sniffled, the tears she cried streaking a bruised cheek covered with the dried blood of a corpse. A young man lay on his side behind her on the narrow mattress, his cracked voice in her ear.  

“It’s gonna be okay, Soo-Ah; just four more games and then we can leave,” he assured her in a ragged whisper. 

The woman hitched her breath. “My pillowcase has FEATHERS, Sang-yul! If they pull me into the fray, I’ll be leaving here a lot sooner than four days!” Her body shook with silent sobs. 

The 23-year-old street urchin said nothing. Instead, he swallowed heavily and tried not to puke at the smell of blood, both old and fresh, assailing his nostrils. His arms tightened around Soo-Ah, his only friend in this hellhole.  

The pig’s lighting flickered faster and more erratically as the fighting grew more frenzied. Sickening thuds, bellows of pain, and the sounds of shoe soles squeaking against the blood and brain splattered linoleum flooring were as loud as bombs.  

Sang-yul chanced a glance over his shoulder, his body tensing at the sight of someone headed in their direction, their face pale and ghoulish in the broken light. A metal pipe was carried in one hand, a bloodied cloth sack in the other.  

Coal black eyes darted everywhere looking for a victim.  

Less players meant more money. 

Sins of the Father 

A Gritty City AU installment. Reader discretion will be advised. 

He met Madeleine at her car door, his lips crashing uninvited against hers in a kiss filled with desperation and disbelief. When the kiss ended as abruptly as it began, Madeleine adjusted her tortoise-shell glasses while her green eyes searched Liam’s face almost warily.  

“What the hell was that?”  

“Someone killed Poppa Joe tonight!”  

Madeleine quelled a shiver that raised goosebumps on her exposed skin before reaching back inside the car for her purse. “Thank GOD,” she breathed as opened the rear driver-side door to release Hans and Gunther, who bounded out of the car and sat before Liam so he could rub their heads and murmur sweet gibberish to them. 

The restauranteur was yet another of Poppa Joe’s victims; when she was 15, the priest had gotten her pregnant. The scandal was handled quietly by the parish and her parents; the latter believed the father of the baby was an upperclassman named Tariq.  

The young blonde left school for one month due to “illness”. It wasn’t a complete fabrication. 

Madeleine’s abortion was a back-alley botch job which left her with a raging infection and too much blood loss. She survived but had to have an emergency hysterectomy.  

She no longer cared. When she and Liam were getting serious and discussing marriage and family, he was relieved they would be unable to have children.  

Tariq, the son of poor Moroccan immigrants, was transferred to an exclusive private school in the city’s North End, all expenses paid via a scholarship provided by St. Joan’s Academies. 

“How did the rest of the party go?” she asked quietly as they began walking towards the house, holding hands; her blonde hair bounced against her shoulders. 

Liam nodded slightly. “Good. We got Sloan Enterprise and slew of new donors.” His side-eyed his wife. “Where did you go with the dogs? It was supposed to be a walk.” 

Madeleine turned her head vaguely, meeting her husband’s gaze.  

“Ice cream,” she replied in a soft voice.  

Her husband nodded thoughtfully. The term was code between them; when situations became too overwhelming, too triggering, they said they needed “ice cream.” 

“I hope you brought me some back.” Liam squeezed Madeleine’s hand more tightly.  

“You don’t like chocolate.” 

The Queen’s Friendship 

Riley was chatting with Maxwell in the Delegates Dining Room at the UN, waiting for the gala to begin. Liam was at the head of the room, arm in arm with Madeleine. His eyes spotted Riley and he winked. Riley rolled hers and turned her back to him.  

“Blossom, don’t act like this! You know he’s trying,” Maxwell begged.

“WE’RE trying! He’s kissing his fiancée,” Riley retorted. Her eyes scanned the room. “Oh, look … there’s Drake,” she stated before walking away from Maxwell.  

Riley had no idea if it was Drake or not, she just wanted away. From Liam, Madeleine, Maxwell … Cordonia. Riley figured now was the time to make the break. She was back home in New York City. She still had her apartment, for the next month at least. She passed by elegantly dressed tables and came upon an hors d'oeuvres station; she paused to pile a tiny plate with even tinier bits of food when she heard her name.  

“Riley Brooks?” 

She turned, a disinterested expression on her face until she saw who it was. Riley hurriedly set her plate on the edge of the buffet table before wrapping her arms around Veronica.  

“OH MY GOD, Ronnie! What are you doing here?” Riley shrieked.  

Veronica hugged her old friend tightly. “It’s so good to see you!” The women separated. “You look great, girl! I’m one of the event planners, why are you here?” 

Riley shrugged. “I’m with the band.” 

Veronica shook her head in disbelief. “How did you end up with royalty?” 

“I answered an ad to be a waitress.” 

DC AU Series, Chapter 6 

The chirping of birds and a full bladder woke Riley up. She arched her neck, eyes still closed; they opened quickly when she felt arms around her waist and Liam’s soft snores behind her. Last night ran through her brain: their fight, their kiss, their confessions. Riley inhaled and let out a shaky breath; were they really going to do this? 

Yes. 

Was she ready for it? 

No.  

Her hands curled around Liam’s wrists, trying to pull them apart. He resisted at first, but let his arms fall away from her body. Riley missed their warmth immediately.  

“Where are you going?” Liam mumbled.  

“Bathroom and to take my meds.” 

“Your pill and a bottle of water are on your nightstand.” 

Riley looked and saw the pink pill sitting on a tissue, next to an unopened bottle of water. When did he do that? 

“Thank you. But unless you put a toilet on the nightstand as well, I gotta get up.” 

Liam shifted, allowing Riley to move and sit up. He watched her adjust her night shirt; his eye was caught by a mole on the back of her neck.  His finger reached out, touching it experimentally. Riley giggled as she shrugged away from his touch.  

“It’s like a potato bug,” Liam said as he tried to touch the mole again.  

“Oh, dear God! Don’t you have to go to work or something?”   

Liam lay on his back, hands behind his head. “Not going in today. You need me here.” 

Riley frowned at him as she walked past the foot of the bed. “I’m fine, Liam. It’s just Drake.” 

“Drake with apologies and explanations and closure. Different Drake than what you’re used to. I’ll feel better if I’m here.” 

Riley shook her head as she stepped into the bathroom.  

“This is what having a man who wants to claim you is like, Riley B.!” he called out.  

“We’re not there yet!” she hollered back.  

“Practice makes perfect!” 

Oldies but Goodies: 

New chapters/updates of old stories:  

Timing 

Object of Affection 

Betrayal (Riam) 

The Commonerr’s Wife 

The Commoner (not that old, but I too want a thrid chapter) 

One Night Stand 

UnRomance 

Streets of New York

Platinum (truly needs to be filed under Finish Them)

Best Friend (Depeche Mode Diary entry, needs to be a Finish Them)

Liara 

And these are my #goals for 2024 writing-wise. I hope something caught your eye, piqued your interest. For all those still hanging with me and exercising the utmost patience while I let life kick my ass, I LOVE YOU! Something’s coming soon-ish, just not sure what.  

Hope you’re here for it. 

Tagging: @jared2612 @marietrinmimi @indiacater @kingliam2019 @bebepac @liamxs-world @mom2000aggie @liamrhysstalker2020 @twinkleallnight @umccall71 @superharriet @busywoman @beezm @gabesmommie1130 @tessa-liam @gardeningourmet @mainstreetreader @angelasscribbles @emkay512 @princessleac1 @charlotteg234 @alj4890 @lovingchoices14 @lady-calypso @choicesficwriterscreations

[rayshippouuchiha]

Ray. I had to make a new folder in my Wips cuz I noticed a trend among a few of my recent Founders wips, which is: Accidental Tobirama Acquisition

Aka: pre-peace Tobirama keeps getting accidentally kidnapped by the Uchiha without them realizing its him, and Tobiramas going Through It trying to get out of the compound and away without the Uchiha realizing "Oh hey, Thats A Senju we should kill it", meanwhile the Uchiha are just "what a lovely young lad ✨️ dah dah dah" or the Red Eyes are Sacred thing.

Tbh in these I tend to have Butsuma just sitting back and cackling cuz he can't really help either?? And he's not expecting Tobirama to kill all the Uchiha on his own he's like twelve. So. (Izuna also tends to figure Tobirama out, but similarly also sits back and cackles cuz he's a Little Shit)

I'm honestly in love with the entire idea of the Uchiha picking up Tobirama like "wow look at those funky little red eyes, and he bites too?? adorable. we should take him home" like Tobirama is some kind of particularly feral cat.

Only Tobirama is like "fuck you guys I have an entire home and Clan, I demand you stop petting me."

Just, the more feral and unhinged Tobirama acts the more the Uchiha are like chanting One Of Us at him and he fucking hates it

[bolithesenate]

WIP GAME

RULES: make a new post with the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! Then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

@cuzosu-blog is coming for me personally and with extreme prejudice I see, so here we go. gods above i have too many wips

life needs things to live

mud fic II

des farners fuchs

bits and bobs - last night myles - maybe eldritch sifo/jaster - mand'alor to the rescue - talk shit get bit - what do sith eat - extreme prejudice - serenno imperial harem - padawan and projectile both start with p, coincidence? i think not - united in grief (and stronger for it)

of guards and guar gards

hux is a feral cat and rey said pspspsps

jaster the explor'alor

anti anarchist royalists

janko meet cute with violence

bamf agricorps

no witches

what happens on pijal stays on pijal

blorbo timetravel

pearly pearls and pearly whites

korkie vizsla's mental speed dial to the manda

the depa billaba blackmailing business

serennoverse lore

getting revenge rael averross style

a kingdom for a horse

unbennantes dokument (1)

fimders keepers

man me a hand

marriage of inconvenience (for the sith)

incidental padawan acquisition

meanwhile on mandalore online

the heart of a star is home

unbenanntes dokument (2)

getting a good grade in girlfriend

dooku taking over the agricorps

the mud of the covenant is thicker than the water of the grandmasters stew

cache lineage

change does not always mean looking forward

better halves than halved bets

exchange for silicon?

this is not a place of honor

true sith padme (tale the l palpy)

whatever works

of falling angels and other idiots

the day the cern did create a black hole

turn this ship around me bois

motina ripping palpy a new one

eldritch bot4 for fun and profit

dooku and ahsoka life changing fieldtrip

unfucking the timeline one bastard at the time

zilobist

taree and boga

cilantro fic

fuck it all

ever heard the saying

her imperial noodleness

this should be all i think

now, 'wip' is being applied rather loosely here, so there's stuff i havent worked on in a bit. but i do plan to eventually. just can't say when.

since there is no universe in which i can come up with more than SIXTY fucking people to tag, i'm just gonna forgo that in its entirety. i know how to choose my battles

[myaoiboy]

what are ur hcs for the boscelhira dynamic?

These bitches are so deeply unhealthy on every level lmaoooo

I'm super torn on whether Ocelot ever actually directly tells Big Boss that he's attracted to him, purely out of such a fucked up yandere level of hero worship. Especially before the Ground Zeroes incident I think he assumes a) that his feelings go without saying and b) that bibo is indestructible, and GZ is a huge wake up call for him. I have a fic in my wip folder about this exact thing because I'm obsessed with ocelot I am genuinely rotating him in my brain at all times. :3

Meanwhile Kaz is extremely straightforward. I feel like he has some fucked up ideas about masculinity and sexuality early on, but hey, gay people tend to congregate around all the snakes in large numbers, so any internalized homo/biphobia that he might have had has to evaporate pretty quickly. He definitely makes the first move on Bibo, he tries the moves that he uses on (many, many) women, and ends up getting absolutely plowed.

Big Boss, to me, is an autistic aroace king who doesn't really *get* sex and/or romance, but is down to fuck if only because he knows it's something other people put a lot of value on and it feels good, and as an extension of hand-to-hand combat. Because of that sex-as-an-extension-of-combat mindset I feel like he doesn't bottom much if ever (maybe, *MAYBE* if the Boss were into pegging, but lbr she's probably a lil too homophobic for that).

Kaz is cool with that, especially in the early MSF days. It's like having a tiger on a leash. He basically has a supersoldier to fuck him senseless.

I think maybe BB and Ocelot meet quietly on occasion through the MSF days, but if they fuck at all in this time it's mostly just what BB kind of assumes he's supposed to do, from interacting with Kaz. tbh Ocelot gets off from the weirdest shit so anything *real* is just a bonus.

Ocelot is *extremely* jealous of Kaz, not just for the sex, but for even getting to see Bibo on a regular basis. This fic is basically to me what I think their first meeting would/should be like (actually this whole series of fics is so good i recommend it): https://archiveofourown.org/works/37886539

(There's another fic that I looked for very quickly but couldn't find that includes Ocelot saying a line like "I just wanted to see what all the buzz was about" after they fuck, it may also be a part of that series, but I'm struggling rn lol)

Ocelot pretends it's not jealousy and is instead a totally justified dislike. Definitely thinks of him as Zero's slutty lapdog. He spends the time between MGS3/PO (take your pick on canonicity) and GZ keeping tabs on Snake for what he pretends are totally professional, impersonal, non-obsessive reasons. This is not true, obviously. Definitely hopes that Kaz is dead in the devastation.

Goes on an enormous bender between the attack and finding out that Bibo is alive, maybe the only time that he really, truly lets himself completely lose control. Definitely think at least once he gets REAL fucking close to ODing and gets to talk to the Sorrow for a lil bit. Might be how he finds out Snake isn't dead/won't die.

If they haven't at least hooked up anonymously before, Kaz and Ocelot definitely start to in this 9 year gap. Ocelot knows a lot about the human body and does some fancy acupunctury/knife-y stuff to help with the pain from his injuries because, y'know, they're stuck together for now.

Ocelot totally fucks Kaz because he's the person closest to Big Boss left in the world. Ocelot isn't much of a top himself, but he tops Kaz just to figure out what he's used to, using Kaz to build up this mental model of how Big Boss must fuck using the negative space he's left behind.

I genuinely think that up to this point they REALLY could have saved one another. They're one another's perfect foil, they cover one another's weaknesses, Kaz is all rage on his own behalf but doesn't know when to cut ties, Ocelot refuses to grow a single vertebra if it might inconvenience Big Boss.

I do think that Ocelot spent a lot of time at Zanzibarland, and that Kaz intentionally helped time Intrude F014 for a time that Ocelot wouldn't be there, from some lack of desire to kill his...complicated ex lover.

I think Ocelot would absolutely be furious that he wasn't let die with his boss, and intentionally lets Kaz live in 2005 as punishment (I like biblical allusion and so the idea of Kaz living the story of Cain/Pontius Pilate's doorman, cursed to live a wandering life until the second coming of jesus, or in Kaz's situation, the third(?) coming of Big Boss makes me kick my feet and giggle)

Gonna stop for now cause this is getting like. Comedically long for what you asked lol. But I am more than willing to talk about this forever i love them they're my favorite toxic barbies

but genuinely yall thank you, you're making me think about this which means that I can add a little more to the bunch of fics I have half written and scared to finish lmaoooo

[tenrousei-kuroi]

i came to ask if you’re planning on posting the sequel rapture on the lonely shore but now i’m desperate to hear about the remus/regulus fic!!!

Yes! I am just going to post it. I was originally emailing copies to people but 1. I think I missed a few emails along the way, which is embarrassing, and 2. That was soooo long ago when I thought that what I'd written was too scandalous for the public world and meanwhile I've sailed *way* past that point now, so I think it can just be posted lol. Just gotta' dig it back up out of whatever folder it was festering in on my old laptop. Might should clean it up a skosh, too, that was teenage-me writing, who knows how well it's aged TT.TT

...In regards to the other fic, I too am desperate to hear about my Regulus/Remus story, because my brain's been cockblocking my progress on the very final chapter ೭੧(❛〜❛✿)੭೨ (I kid, I kid, it's getting there. The finish line is in sight, I'm just moving at a snail's pace lately and I'm trying to train myself not to post so many WIPs until they're closer to *done*...)

But here's a snippet of the general vibe, if you're interested:

┏━•❃°•°❀°•°❃•━┓

On the last day of term, Lupin found him by the lake.

“Oi, Regulus, get through potions all right? I heard you were a mite nervous about that one.”

Regulus looked up from his sandwich. “Who told you that?” He’d been relaxing beneath one of the somber willow trees by the water with a few of his classmates, but they’d both taken off to swim, leaving him alone when Lupin approached.

“Just something I heard,” Lupin said. “So...did you survive without too much strife?”

“Yes, thank you,” Regulus said with a curt nod. His skin tingled warily as Lupin sat down beside him. Regulus looked around nervously.

“Relax,” Lupin assured him, tossing his bag next to Regulus’s and stretching out, arms behind his head on the grass. “I’m not about to start snogging you in public, just visiting. Nothing suspicious, I swear.”

Regulus coughed, choking a little on some bread. “Not as if—I mean, you’d not want—you’re not here to ask that of me, are you?”

Regulus averted his eyes. Lupin chuckled lightly beside him, leaning up onto his side. He tapped his fingers rhythmically against Regulus’s crossed legs. “I don’t know, what would your answer be?”

Regulus sighed deeply. “I suppose yes.”

Lupin sat up fully, looking at him curiously. “You suppose?” he asked.

Regulus shrugged. “Well I’ve not got much choice, have I? Given everything you overheard in the library between me and my brother...I suppose I’m not really in a position to refuse you anything, am I?”

Lupin frowned. “I didn’t overhear much of anything, Regulus. Sirius told me.”

“He...he did?” Regulus gasped, a hotness prickling at his eyes.

“Yes,” Lupin insisted.

“I can’t believe it,” Regulus muttered, dejected. “He swore…”

“And you believed him?” Lupin laughed pityingly. “Poor thing,” he carded a hand through Regulus’s hair, and Regulus merely swayed back and forth from the force of it, a blank look in his eyes.

“O—okay,” he said shakily.

“Okay, what?”

Regulus sat up a bit straighter. “Okay l—let’s do your suggestion. But later somewhere. Send me a note or something and let me know where to find you,” he added a bit more confidently.

“Do wha—oh, you mean kiss?” Lupin was smiling fondly.

“Yes,” said Regulus firmly. He stood up and began to gather his bag and cloak. “And...and whatever else that we’re supposed to do.”

“Great then,” said Lupin. “I’ll send for you tonight.”

“I’ll come,” Regulus promised recklessly. Then he dashed away before he could change his mind.

[anyablackwood]

WIP List Game

Thanks so much @nemaliwrites for the tag! Y'all please don't judge me, I have folders for some individual WIPs where I put a million scraps into, meanwhile some of my other WIPs don't even have their own dedicated doc... I'm a scatted mess and I need to start cutting WIPs I swear (also most of these names are UNOFFICIAL)

RULES: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

Asteria Heights

Beyond the Mirror

The Blackwoods

Creatures/Amity Hall

Crown of Blood

Empire

The Institute

Cell Block Tango

Oasis

Traveling Bards

Katsuko Gaiden

Ukiyo/Hyakki Yagyo

Teddy and Finn

There's actually more, but those are the only ones that even have working titles/separate documents dedicated to them (I have a doc of just scraps of story ideas).

God I don't even think I follow this many writeblrs 😭, but I'll give it a shot. Gently tagging: @anoelleart, @paintedbutton, @amaiguri, @theunboundwriter, @fayeiswriting, @da-na-hae, @justnerdy15, @desastreus, @disastardly, @thepitflower, @cypriathus, @olive-riggzey, @mysticstarlightduck

[cicaklah]

fic author q&a

thank you @the-lady-general for tagging me, I love to procrastinate by doing stuff like this.

1. Why do you write fanfic?

because my brain is a relentless what-if machine and it can't be stopped or tamed. If I wasn't writing it down I'd be losing time just thinking about it, trust me, its far better this way.

and because I love writing, love the fic community, and just love creativity. I've been reading fic literally every single day since I was 11 or 12 and I'm now 38. I'm passionate about the fic writing world and my experience in the 'conventional' writing space has been nothing but anxiety, inferiority and bitterness.

2. Which of your posted stories do you think about the most, even though the story is “finished”?

I don't tend to feel like that about my stories, because I am always up to write sequels or prequels to things, or add stuff onto various universes. I still think often about weibermacht, which is the name of the sex club in my Hitman stories, and one day I will write a proper weibermacht story, but the reason I still think about stories is because they aren't properly finished. I also think a lot about the watch me series because I feel guilty that I never finished it. I have at least another 3 stories in various stages of writing.

I'm planning on doing a WIP amnesty next year (once One Man is finished), and I'm hoping that it will get me to finish some of these things I want to return to, but haven't since.

3. If you could give yourself fic advice from when you first started writing fic, what would that advice be?

Use the momentum of being really into something to make more art. Write as much fic as you can, and don't let guilt catch up with you. It doesn't matter if it sucks; you have to love it, and if you love it in the moment, you are going in the right direction.

4. What’s your relationship to fic stats?

As a professional sort-of statistician I adore them, I wish there were more of them, specifically available over time, and also the number of subscriptions to series would help me as someone who writes in that way. BUT: comparison is the thief of joy. My big fic-related breakdown was over constantly comparing myself to the people I thought were my peers. Stats don't tell you why you aren't doing better than someone, and I know from my profession that you can't just assume things from numbers.

5. Is there a pairing or scenario or friendship you miss writing? If so, why? If not, why not?

I miss Stormpilot (Finn/Poe) circa 2017. What a beautiful time. It will never come again, even if we got something to make the ship sail again, the world has changed.

6. What motivates you to write?

Much like the lady general, I am motivated by wanting to tell jokes, or by specific ideas that enter my brain and won't let go. I am motivated to keep going on one man because there are specific stories I need to share with the rest of the class, but I must tell the rest of the story in order to get there. The journey is the point, but so is the punchline.

7. Why do you write for the fandom(s) that you write for?

Star Trek, specifically SNW, is my current blorbo, so I write for myself and my id on that one. Hitman is for the thirsty thirteen and because its OTP. Oxventure is...complicated. I am so very burned out on that fandom. Super Secret RPF pairing is because of my co-conspirators <3. I've also written way, way too many things because Phoenix and I have talked about them and I've then be POSSESSED.

8. If you’re stuck writing a WIP, what do you do?

As long as I'm still interested in the project, I do my best to push through. I have the philosophy that a story doesn't really exist until it is published anyway. I do have an abandoned WIP folder, and within that is a folder called 'look I'm never writing these ones'. There are 12 stories in that folder. Meanwhile there are 134 I have yet to give up on, not including the 4 that are currently in progress (not including one man.)

Basically I need another WIP amnesty.

9. What do you wish people knew about comments?

They really are the fuel on the fire. I have finished stories because of comments. I have written entire worlds because of comments. I do my best to answer every single comment, and I try to also leave comments as much as I can. At the same time, I have to, for my own sanity, try not to put too much stock in them, because we have to be self-fuelling machines, we have to be self-raising lazaruses. You have to write for yourself, because if you base everything on other people's opinions, you will die nobody.

10. Maybe there’s a question you wish had been on here. What’s that question (and answer)?

I think the question I'd like to ask is what is your personal greatest fic achievement? Not your most popular story, what was the story that you still look at and go: I will never not be proud of that achievement. Mine is the fact I have published 750,000 words and 130 stories and I still feel like I'm only just getting started. That the perseverance over the last 14 years proves that I can do whatever I set my mind to, that I am valuable in a way that matters, and all the doubters of my youth can go fuck themselves forever.

I'm tagging @postalninja, @stickthisbig, @android-and-ale and @alienfuckeronmain and anyone else who wants to do it. lets navel gaze, lads.

[mangatxt]

For the wip ask, if you don't mind, I'd love to hear more about any of these(you don't have to answer all of them if you don't want!):

"your hand on the hot stove" "Serizawa Broccoli" "Matsuo Pokedex" ?! "Too many beds Serirei" this sounds hilarious, and the title instantly has me humming the 'too many cooks' song "Emi Writes a Novel" "Health Inspector / Blair Witch" ?!?! "Mob and Serizawa Lunch Gossip" this sounds Adorable!!

again you don't have to answer all of them, please forgive my inability to narrow my curiosity

Hope you're doing well!

Best wishes!

"forgive me for my inability to narrow my curiosity" you say, meanwhile i'm over here like

AHHH thank you so much for asking about all of these. i get excited about ideas and end up outlining a story or writing a particular scene i think would be fun. i hope to go back and finish off a lot of these ideas eventually -- or repurpose them into other things i'm working on.

i'll give a summary of these wips under the cut:

your hand on the hot stove

This is a backstory fic for screwball that I've been working on and off for the past year. The summary is: "Serizawa Katsuya will never touch a baseball again. The man who knocks on the front door every day says otherwise." More specifically, Suzuki Touichirou is determined to put together the best supporting team possible despite salary cap regulations, and thus, resorts to recruiting a handful of powerful and impressionable misfits. Among them is Serizawa, a major-league dropout after he accidentally struck a pitcher in the face and put him in a coma. The fic follows Suzuki convincing Serizawa to come out of retirement and get involved in the baseball scene once again -- and explores the twists and turns of Serizawa's simultaneous rehabilitation and indoctrination into the Claw org. Basically, it's a baseball-ified version of the Serizawa backstory and some thoughts about how professional sports recruiting takes advantage of people or invests them in the idea of winning at all costs (e.g. feuds, steroid use, etc). As for the title, the “hot stove” refers to the winter during the major league baseball off-season when free-agent signing and trades are most prevalent. This is one of the more complete fics I have in my WIP folder, but I find I can only work on one angst-y thing at a time, and android au has held that attention for a while.

serizawa broccoli

This was short, angst-y attempt to fill in Serizawa's missing scenes during the Divine Tree arc. In it he reacts to the strange vibes at work and school and eventually receives the candy from Reigen and encounters the brainwashing himself, which mirrors his entry into Claw so thoroughly that he panics and loses control of his powers enough to snap him out of it. In the manga, Serizawa is the first character to identify the roots having weird properties during the Yokai Hunt mini-arc. I think it would be interesting to explore how his Claw deprogramming experience interacts with the city-wide rise of Psycho Helmet -- the indoctrination patterns he might recognize or the tactics he would remain susceptible to.

matsuo pokedex

This is a character study of Matsuo from early life and through major plot points (7D, Mogami, World Dom). It was based on the idea that Matsuo internalized his own powers as a kid by comparing them to Pokemon games. As such, each snippet of his life has Matsuo's version of a PokeDex entry for a relevant spirit. Much of the fic follows Matsuo's journey from treating spirits like tools to something more compassionate and the grief he goes through every time he loses his pets.

too many beds serirei

(nsfw-ish) After an awkward one-night stand with Reigen, Serizawa -- in cahoots with wingman!Dimple -- attempts to spur on another hook-up by engineering a "there was only one bed" situation. He's foiled by "too many beds" at every turn.

emi writes a novel

This a 5+1 "5 times emi's writing was rejected and one time it wasn't" that goes over Emi's progress at her first novel before and after her encounter with Mob and how her writing follows her changes as a person.

health inspector / blair witch

The premise is based on this post. I think it's actually going to be separate from TPC, but still post-Reigen spinoff S&S. A resentful Roshuuto calls the Seasoning City equivalent of OSHA on Reigen and Serizawa, which forces them to cancel out-of-office case plans with Tome. Annoyed, Tome recruits Hoshida and Dimple into a "witch-hunting" trip of her own. The fic swaps back and forth between the comedy-of-errors inspector debacle and the increasingly-troubling Blair Witch situation (which seems to affect Hoshida exclusively) on Tome's livestream. The two situations finally intersect when Tome and Dimple (carrying an unconscious Hoshida) run into Reigen and Serizawa (carrying an unconscious health inspector) at the office stairwell and they're both like, "don't ask." It's only an outline right now, but I fully intend to write this.

mob and serizawa lunch gossip

Mob and Serizawa go out for lunch during Serizawa's first week on the job (sometime between 3x02 and 3x03). Serizawa has a lot of questions about the job and Reigen and society in general, and they talk about some of Mob's more troubling memories. Missing scene friendship stuff with minor references to upcoming Divine Tree arc.

pheeeew that's a lot. it was fun to write this out. thanks again for asking!!!

[omgfloofy]

State of the Fic(s)

I know it's not Wednesday, but I've had a crazy week. I think to start the new week, I should do a state of the current projects in my 'wip' folder, simply because I've not done one in awhile.

So! Here's a list of current projects I've got going in the 'fic-o-sphere' so to speak that gives you some updates on what's going on with them!

FFXV Related

dal segno al coda

The whole crazy long FFXV fanfic that I've been working on. I had a breakthrough over the weekend that got me out of a rut on part 1, and have decided that something I wrote that wouldn't actually get released at any point probably will (not related to Ad Astra below). It'll be a long time, though, since it's a post-story short.

I've had a goal for awhile that I wanted to have the fic in editing phase by the end of the year, but I'm not sure I'm going to meet that goal at the moment.

Oh yeah. Meanwhile, Elsewhere - the batches of outside POV stories to go alongside events during the main story - has been renamed to Colla Parte. I'm sad to lose the joke based on FFXIV, but I think it's also better to make it line up more to the music theming going on in the names.

There are still the two preview fics:

We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Programming - this is an outside POV fic just before the endgame of the story. It introduces a pair of original characters that were, at first, mentioned on the side, and grew into their own parts.

Date Night - About halfway through the story, Noctis and Lunafreya are reunited and spend a period of time in Insomnia together. I didn't have the space or timing for a lot of what I wanted to do, so I decided to use the ideas as a short with them together in it. It is currently at 2 of 4 chapters, and helps give an idea of the storytelling style/formatting used for the main story.

Twilight

So I'm still picking at this AU in spite of having the fic done. There are a variety of shorts in it still. (If you haven't read it yet, and are interested, the main story for Twilight is available on AO3.)

Sunburned, as part of the On the Job shorts got posted this week.

There are several others in the works, as listed below, all working titles:

There are two more shorts in the On the Job file that are in progress. There may be more in the future.

Group Chat - A batch of unused group texts that I didn't have space for in the main story.

Some Things Never Change - A short of Noct running into Sania.

The Puzzle Box - This is waiting for a chapter of On the Job to be done first, but it's about Noct making his puzzle box that's mentioned in the main story.

A Part to Play - A surprising addition that is turning out to be a bit more world building to the AU than I expected, but Noct is hired to join a small team on a very special project.

There are still some others that I wanted to write that I have in a checklist. I had an Aranea story I wanted to use in the main fic, but never had the space for it. There's another sidestory that's started, but untitled based on an incident that is mentioned in both Twilight and A New Restart.

Hell Diving

So. Uh. This is a stupid thing that's got stuff marked all over and will be a bit more "multimedia"-y of a fic than my others.

Basically, a silly one-shot crossover fic of the chocobros play Helldivers. So. Yeah. thats' a thing.

It just needs a lot of specific creative work to be done before I get into straight up writing it.

Untitled Long Night Story

This whole thing is currently set on the sidelines since I've had a lot of focus on other things. It's still there, and the whole fic just took a bit of a change in terms of storytelling.

I'll get to it. Maybe I'll have this prepared for Halloween this year. That'll be a nice setup.

Ad Astra

A really bizarre/headtrippy followup to dal segno al coda that I wasn't sure I wanted to post. I can't explain anything about this story without spoiling its sister story.

A lot of the notetaking that turned into this was originally to map out the world building that happens endgame in dal segno al coda. It's just come together to make enough for a fic of its own.

Sadly, I'm not 100% sure I have the chops to tell this story well, though.

Non FFXV Stuff:

Random Questions

I'm still working on this! It's still mapped out! It's just that FFXV is back to living rent free in my head right now.

There is also a follow-up to go along with it. I can't post anything from said follow-up until Random Questions is finished, however.

Payday

oh huh. look. a random kiseki/trails fic in the list. I wonder what this could be.

During Yuletide, my assignment had Ys and Crossbell arc stories listed in their requests. A Little Doll's Big Adventure almost didn't get written in lieu of this fic instead, which was a Tio centric story that may end up being way too relatable. I may still write it, as it's outlined.

Lost Traveller

Huh. I wonder what this is...

The Haunting of Karen Jackson

This is a Phasmophobia fic idea I got into my head. It'll be treated as a dossier/report rather than a traditional story. Like with Hell Diving, there are other things I need to prep before I can work on this.

[cq-studios]

WIP Folder Tag Game

Tagged by @/Corishadowfang… not really but she said anyone who wants to can say she tagged them

Rules: Post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! Then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

(Hating how in character it is for me to not finish the last thing before starting this one… I’ll do it all in due time I swea- SQUIRREL)

I’ve never done one of these before, so I’m not entirely sure if I’m doing it right… but it looks like fun so here I go!

Side note: all my WIPs (and finished fics I made too many years ago to feel like posting) are in one egregiously large document (like over 100 pages lol) so I’m just gonna list what they’re currently titled (and the ones that are actually WIPs)

All of these are KH because I have no other purpose in life lol

Clocktower AU

Ghosts of the Past AU

Reading

Late One Night

How to Tell Someone their Sister Died

KHUX Christmas Special

Journey to the Breaking Point

Misunderstanding

Unlikely Friend

Recruiting

Escapism AU: Lost in Ruins

Escapism AU: Escapism

Broadcasting Live from Daybreak Town

Gods AU

Meanwhile in the Realm of Darkness

Boiling Isles AU

Mean Girls AU (lol)

Camping

Nameless AU (this one’s a biiiiig one so I’m dividing it up)

Main

The End of Normal (Filler Title)

The Funeral

The Imposter

The New Arrival

Is it Really Gay if we’re just Playing Chess (Filler Title)

The Awkward Dinner

Side

He’s not Subtle

The Routine

Brain’s Dead Daughter Monologue (Filler Title)

Gotta Love PTSD (Filler Title)

Living Legend

Or if you give me a number from 1 to 22 I can spit out one of my story idea notes and elaborate on it

I’m not sure I know anyone well enough to tag but if anyone who follows me wants to do it I tag you I guess lol

[iamtaran]

WIP Title Game! oh good lord

rules: in a new post, post the names of all the files in your wip folder regardless of how nondescriptive or ridiculous. let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet and tell us about it!

thanks @allyunabridged for the tag! Lmao I stared down the barrel of not one, but two google drives to gather these and all I can say is

😬

IN AN ORDER ONLY THE GODS UNDERSTAND:

The Twilit Gate (BG3, when in want of more fey bullshit in your BG3, do it yourself!!! TavxAstarionxGalexliterally everyone i'm gay alright???)

Island (The Guest/손 AU, horror and survivalism; Hwa Pyung, Choi Yoon, and Gil Young follow Park Hong Joo's and Park Il Do's machinations out to open sea, to an island with long forgotten history where the real struggle for survival begins.)

But For Grace (SW:Preq's, modern-character in GFFA aka "what to do when you accidentally change things and the Chosen One dies?", started as a silly question but now I'm committed; Qui-Gon Jinn lives; what would happen in a galaxy without Anakin Skywalker?)

The Mage's War (DA2 + DA:I, what if Bethany Hawke was the Herald, Modern/Avvar OC, playing Fade chicken with the Dread Wolf nbd, put on my tinfoil hat for this one re: the Fade, the Abyss/Void, Forgotten Ones, etc.)

In God's Eye (Vampyr, human!Jonathan, ekon!McCullum, Mary lives, I'm a hobby WWI & Spanish Flu researcher so hold your britches I have FEELINGS)

For Want Of Two (Vampyr, wanted more mythological beings & nemrod lore so I'll do it myself gdi, put-that-thing-back-where-you-found-it-or-so-help-me-god.gif ; JxMcCxOC)

Lights All Hung On Nothing (Star Wars Preq's to Clone Wars era, modern-character-in-SW with a big twist, Force + time fuckery, Ani + Obi focus, the butterfly effect changes everything)

The 72nd Cycle (SW: Mandalorian, AU - Grogu is not the only Force sensitive prisoner Gideon had captured. Without room in his ship for multiple students, Luke tags along, not expecting the sad Mando's ride Boba Fett (w h a t) to show up and offer the poor guy use of his bacta tank; well, soon-to-be-his. He just has to kill its current owner, Bib Fortuna, first. You know. On Tatooine(WHAT!!). Meanwhile, on Tattooine: Cobb Vanth gets the nagging feeling his life is about to become much more stressful.)

A Heavy Thing (KOTOR, amnesiac Revan works a shitty food service job on Taris and definitely isn't a Jedi/Sith/Soldier, I mean, clearly. Slice of life becomes tragedy becomes adventure becomes mystery becomes ??? RevanxCanderousxCarth DON'T LOOK AT ME)

Life, Happening (The Shining/Doctor Sleep introspective piece on Danny Torrance, life & death, what it means to be gone, and not gone.)

Led To Water (Mandalorian, Din takes off the armor having broken his Creed and, unsure what to do next, returns to Kuiil's homestead to brood and sweat manfully through his existential crisis; his friends help him through it.)

Mando'ad'ika (Mandalorian/Original SW movies, The Mandalorian is taken into custody and now Leia has to deal with a sweet but stressed frog lady, a green gremlin with too much Force power, and this intimidating tin can who won't budge. Since Han laughed at her, she decides to make it his problem, too.)

Time Travel, & Other Ways To Die (Mandalorian/SW:Bounty Hunter video game, Din & Jango centric, whilst trying to get to Grogu on his magical big rock, Din & Grogu end up chucked through time onto an outlaw space station. Jango Fett's no good very bad day begins. Coincidentally, it coincides with Din Djarin's SUPER no good very bad day. They most assuredly do not bond over this.)

I am, or was. (Dragon Age: Inquisition, a spirit takes an interest in Solas after he helps it in the Fallow Mire and begins following him around like a lost puppy. Which would be cute, if it weren't possessing more and more alarming vessels to do so. The Andrastians are starting to get a bit twitchy.)

Rookie, Shiny, Soldier, Spy (Mandalorian/Clone Wars, Din Djarin accidental time travel into the Clone Wars AU. Caught without his 'gam on a battle field and forced once again to wear trooper armor, he is Not Impressed--and why do all these guys look like Boba?)

This Prodigal Son (Hades/Dragon Age: Inq, Zagreus goes through the wrong Chaos portal. Magister Alexius finds a powerful spirit in the Fade and, as is his way, decides fuck it, we ball. Also his way, it doesn't go very well for him.)

Send me a title via ask and I'll post my favorite bit I've currently written!

Lmao this was wild to throw together given how many WIPs of age past are staring me down; these are just all the recents. Go ahead and chuck some WIPs out there if you're interested @singoallala @narwhalninja @mauverawrites @in-a-trans-like-state @terresdebrume and @jackironsides ! And if you don't/aren't currently writing, everyone loves to see the pet tax paid C: